By Prof P Ramasamy
ACADEMIC institutions should not to be held ransom by conservative religious forces.
However, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s (UTM) decision to cancel legendary Indian classical dancer Datuk Ramli Ibrahim’s virtual talk on the advise of its Islamic Centre is not surprising at all.
It merely goes to show how conservative Islam has come to take root in academic and other institutions in the country.
If such an intervention is allowed, it will be matter of time before differences of ideas and thoughts begins to be extinguished.
It is obvious that UTM has discarded all pretense of academic objectivity by being beholden to the whims and fancies of its religious centre, among the many in the university.
If the Islamic Centre has so much influence or clout, then what is the point of UTM having an administration of its own, with various academic and administrative positions?
The university is entitled to get views of the various centres, but the decision must come from the vice-chancellor, the CEO of the university.
Even if we regard Ramli as a controversial person, which he is certainly not, what would be the position of the Higher Education Ministry (MoHE) on this matter?
If universities cannot make a decision on certain matters, they have to seek the advise of the ministry, especially the top civil servants.
In this regard, MoHE director-general has a big influence on matters concerning programmes in universities.
The cancellation of Ramli’s talk indicates, among other things, that UTM’s Islamic Centre, perhaps under the influence of PAS, has a influence on such matters compared to the MoHE.
What was it about the proposed talk by Ramli that brought the swift intervention of the Islamic Centre, that actually revolves around the tendentious role on matters of arts and culture?
Arts transcend race and religion
I understand that Ramli wanted to give a talk on how arts, culture and dance transcends race and religion.
He might have made references to various forms of dance, not just of the Indian genre.
Personally, I have met Ramli on a few occasions in Penang. If I am not mistaken, his troupe performed twice in Penang.
I attended one of the performances and was surprised that the audience was composed of all races, particularly the expatriate European community.
The various type of dance performed may have stemmed from Indian culture and arts but the universal message espoused was strong and powerful.
The various performances by his dedicated team of dancers and others were a powerful testimony of Ramli’s attempt to transcend race, religion and sectarianism among human beings.
Ramli is also a recipient of numerous international awards on dance and culture. He is certainly an asset to Malaysia in promoting universal values, using arts and culture.
It is sad and tragic that one of our local academic institutions has denied him the permission to give a talk on a rather innocuous subject matter of arts and culture.
Malaysia will be failing if we allow our academic institutions to be dictated by conservative religious organisations.
UTM’s Islamic Centre is just one extreme example, but there are many others who are in the forefront of dictating things as what is permissible and otherwise.
This holier-than-thou moral policing must stop. I call upon the MoHE Minister Datuk Noraini Ahmad to intervene and allow the talk to proceed.
The failure of the ministry to act on this matter is tantamount to being held hostage by certain groups and organisations that are bent on destroying the complex and rich diversity of this country.
Today it might be Ramli, maybe there will be others in the future. Sooner or later, we can say goodbye to freedom in the academic institutions. – June 7, 2021.
(Editor’s note: The earlier article erroneously referred to Universiti Teknologi Malaysia as UiTM, instead of UTM. We apologise for the inconvenience caused)
Prof P Ramasamy is the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang and Perai state assemblyman.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Focus Malaysia.
