SITI Kasim has a bone to pick with the Malaysian Higher Education Ministry after a rightist Universiti Malaya (UM) student group stood up against a deemed enlightening forum “Is Malaysia a Secular or Islamic Country?” in which she is a panel member.
This came about after a rightist student group which calls itself Neo-Siswa UM opposed staging of the event given its organiser, the UM Association of New Youth (UMANY), has invited the human rights activist and lawyer whom the group alleged as “being skewed towards LBGT”.
“I don’t know what their problem with me is … Is it because Siti Kasim voices the truth or is it because Siti Kasim is daring to speak up against something that they’re unwilling to listen,” she chided the Malaysian oldest public university in her latest YouTube rant.
“Just look at the faces who oppose the forum … SAtudents who aren’t open to idea tend to exhibit close-minded attitude which could have stemmed from fears towards changes or lack of exposure to new beliefs.
“In fact, this can be disruptive to their studies … I can’t imagine how they could find a spot in universities with such mindset to begin with … They simply don’t possess critical mindset to co-exist with others who don’t possess similar mindset “
Editor’s Note: Apparently, the said forum originally entitled “Malaysia’s Identity Crisis: Is Malaysia a Secular or an Islamic Country” was slated to be held at the UM auditorium on Dec 17 last year but was shelved at the eleventh hour apparently due to Siti Kasim’s role as a speaker.
Interestingly, although the event has been re-scheduled to be held at 7.30pm today (April 20) at the Dewan Perdana 4, UM, the venue has been shifted to the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) due the UM administration having ‘banned’ the event.
This has led to UMANY president Lim Jing Jet strongly condemning such action taken ‘on grounds of “involving 3R (religion, race and royalty) issues which are deemed sensitive and potentially disruptive to campus harmony” as “stifling freedom of expression”.
UMANY has since challenged UM to answer the following questions:
- Are constitutional issues no longer permissible in academic settings?
- Are students not allowed to explore the nation’s direction on legitimate platforms?
- Has UM abandoned its mission of being a world-class university while being contented to become a zone of intellectual silence?
Closed mindset
In her humble opinion, Siti Kasim pointed out that the forum is necessary given some politicians are claiming that Malaysia is an Islamic country even if the Federal Constitution is stating otherwise.
Expressing astonishment to the claim of Neo Siswa UM of her being “LBGT-slant”, Siti Kasim further elaborated:
Are they implying that I always defend the rights of citizens whether they belong to the LBGT group (in particular, transvestites) or regardless of their race and creed to live on the Malaysian soil without disruption by the government or anyone if they don’t break the law?
I’m sure these students perceive that those who don’t subscribe to their Islamic ideas don’t deserve to lead a peaceful live in Malaysia.
“This is the problem we’ve with some of the new generation who has been brainwashed since their school days that hating LBGT or open-minded people who think differently from them is the right thing to do.
Therefore, I always question the way our children are taught in schools … These kids simply can’t fathom that the world is so big with billons of inhabitants who possess diverse ways of thinking or that we can’t prevent people from listening to views that are different from them.
“In fact, if they don’t understand the content of the forum, they should attend the event and even to pose questions to the panel if they don’t understand what is being debated.
Imagine if the panel members are made up of ustaz who condemn LBGT hence in line with their way of thinking, I reckon they wouldn’t have initiated any memorandum of protest.
I therefore cordially invite them to the forum to hear us out … You u may not like what you hear but there is where you pick up some academic skill to question or listen to the answers … It’s fine if you don’t like what you hear as everyone has their own opinion.
I’ve issue with this type of youngster for I don’t see if they can be future leaders of Malaysia with such narrow mindset … If this is the type of children that we’re breeding, I foresee great failure for the future of Malaysia – April 20, 2025
