UNIVERSITIES worldwide are usually a hotbed of intellectual activity and filled with idealistic political firebrands.
However, in Malaysia – or at the UiTM Dengkil Matriculation Campus at least – it appears that a number of students there seem to have misplaced their grey matter.
But mimicking an extremist organisation like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) certainly takes the biscuit. For the uninitiated, the KKK is a racist organisation based in the US which advocates slavery and racial segregation.
A “march past” was captured in a brief video clip that has since gone viral with over 2M views on X. The poster, J M (@YuenA_9) observed that the crowd were watching in amusement rather than trying to stop these wannabe radicals.
UITM Dengkil students doing a KKK parade (allegedly) & everyone watching in amusement rather than stopping them.
Great time for our Malaysia@PDRMsia @MOHEOfficial pic.twitter.com/q7nbEAYGET
— J M (@YuenA_9) April 14, 2025
Is this what Malaysia has descended into, asked the obviously disappointed poster.
In a reaction, Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) has defended the group who had done the KKK outfit on grounds that it was all part of an assignment on legal issues.
In a statement, UiTM further contended that it did not find the stunt religiously offensive given the students’ presentation centred on discrimination based on skin colour, a practice found in several countries.
“The costumes were part of a visual to help provide a better understanding and appreciation of the topic,” it justified.
Nevertheless, the viral clip by J M which has since garnered 2.3M views had one commenter urging the relevant authorities – notably the police – to take punitive action (including expulsion) with one stating that KKK is an extremist organisation whose culture and values should not be allowed to spread here in Malaysia.
Hinting at selective prosecution, one netizen enquired whether such actions were strictly prohibited at institutions of higher learning in this country. Wasn’t it in the rules?
Some were obviously mortified by the actions of these brainless minority while pleading to the pubic do not equate all UiTM students with these KKK-copycats.
One Malay student is extremely saddened by the actions of these students who decided to mimic the KKK given she herself is facing daily racism as a student in the US.
However, there were a few who saw nothing wrong with the so-called protest, claiming this to be a valid in the face of threats to Bumiputera rights.
One even went as far as saying the negative reaction as “woke”, arguing that the KKK connotations were irrelevant in the local context.
While these students have every right ‘to protest’, perhaps their choice of social experiment needs some re-visiting. The ridiculousness of choosing to mimic the KKK was highlighted by one commenter.
This incident present perfectly Malaysia in a microcosm. Schisms are being created in a multi-ethnic society by highly divisive rhetoric with this KKK-type protest being a perfect example.
While universities are supposed to be a hotbed of political activity, there must be some form of limitations to the relevancy of social experiment topics, lest they become a breeding ground for those with racist and extremist views as highlighted by the infamous Nazi salute at a convocation at Universiti Sains Malaysia, Sabah in 2019.
Context is vital, so is knowledge of history, both local and international. For now, the actions of these “protesters” have gone on to mar their alma mater and cause further discomfort in an already fractured society. – April 15, 2025
