THE Malaysian Academic Movement (Gerak) said it was appalled by the audience’s silence during Bruce Gilley’s talk at a Universiti Malaya (UM) forum last week, adding that the US-based academic’s offending remarks should have been rebutted by the audience.
The group noted that the affair could have been a more “value-added” episode had local professors and students who attended countered his offending remarks.
“His ideas should have been confronted by academics, creating a constructive space for purposeful dialogue as this is what normally happens at most university seminars around the world,” said Gerak in a statement on Tuesday (April 30).
“Instead, Gerak is appalled that there was silence from the floor. The Gilley affair has shown how our academics in our universities continue to be intellectually passive. They were unable to put him in his place, which he deserved.
“This was a good opportunity for our scholars and students to share their ideas and interpretations, and to teach foreigners like Gilley about ethics, and to be mindful of their slipshod scholarship.”
Gilley, a political science professor at Portland State University, recently courted controversy when he said at the talk that Malaysia was pushing for a “second Holocaust against the Jewish people”.
Gilley made the remarks in a keynote address entitled “Will Malaysia become an active middle power?” on April 23.
Gerak said the silence from academics at the forum had demonstrated a tendency to worship Euro-American “experts”, and the inability to stand up to a scholar who utters nonsense.
At the same time, the group said politicians should stop trying to de-platform controversial scholars, which would “emasculate” critical thinking.
“It reinforces political interference in higher education, perpetuates mediocrity, and encourages the ‘professor kangkong’ syndrome in the academy,” it stated.
“The Gilley affair has showcased our culture of intellectual laziness, a lack of confidence among our academics, and widespread apathy in our universities. This must stop.”
The academic left Malaysia on Thursday, citing safety concerns caused by an “Islamo-fascist mob whipped up by the government”.
He had also launched a fundraising campaign on GoFundMe to cover travel and lodging expenses totalling US$2,346 (RM11,222) after declining reimbursement from UM “as a result of its disgraceful behaviour and that of the Malaysian government”.
At the time of writing, Gilley has managed to raise US$601 (RM2,866) on the fundraising platform. – April 30, 2024
Main pic credit: Facebook
