UNIVERSITI Malaya (UM) has been slammed for disallowing a vocal former student of theirs from speaking at a recent forum on campus and “unprofessionally” shutting down the PA system and dismissing the audience after he ended up taking to the stage.
On Thursday (Oct 13), human rights activist Wong Yan Ke, who is infamous for protesting against the university’s then vice-chancellor’s “racist remarks” back in 2019, was scheduled to speak at a forum organised by the Universiti Malaya Students’ Union (UMSU).
However, the UM Students Affairs Division reportedly barred the former Universiti Malaya Association of New Youth (UMANY) president from speaking, citing “improper procedures and disrespect to the university”, with security staff stopping him from entering the hall where the forum was to take place.
After attempts by UMSU to negotiate and get Wong inside failed, the group brought him backstage. But shortly after, UM “sabotaged” the event by shutting down the PA system and forcing students to leave, according to Wong.
1. Was invited by Student Union-UMSU to attend an academic forum titled ‘Freedom of speech in the campus’ during the Universiti Malaya orientation week with Prof Azmi Sharom. I was stopped by the security at the entrance around 10.30am, more staffs were sent to surround the hall. pic.twitter.com/SxEPyZ6tUk
— Wong Yan Ke (@yankewong96) October 13, 2022
Ironically, the forum Wong was scheduled to speak at was on freedom of expression among students of higher institutes.
In a statement, UMSU said Wong was invited in his capacity as a coordinator for human rights group Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM).
They added that the university administration has “no right” to dictate who can or cannot be a speaker, “especially not on the stated grounds (of) ‘improper procedure and disrespect.”
The group said these are “not reasonable and proportionate to the restricting of fundamental liberty”, adding that such restrictions or limits to freedom of expression should only take place if the speeches made are “truly inappropriate” or against the law.
“Academic freedom should be upheld at all times,” they said. “Let the (students) listen to everything and judge for themselves (as to) what is right and what is wrong).
“Shouldn’t be only one voice”
“By no means should there be only one voice in an education institution as renowned as Universiti Malaysia,” they said.
UMSU demanded that the relevant UM officers apologise for their “unprofessional conduct”, which the former claims includes threats, and refrain from repeating the “same, shameful mistake” in the future to protect freedom of speech.
“Upon repetition, they should be vacated from their position as they are prohibiting the university from moving forward,” they added.
Besides that, UMSU urged all political parties to pledge to uphold student autonomy, academic freedom and freedom of speech in all educational institutions, a call they said is timely as the general elections are around the corner.
They reiterated that such an incident must not occur again to ensure that no student in UM would fear to voice out and speak their opinion, noting that freedom of speech is a fundamental right that every individual, including students, possesses in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Wong, who has since been charged in court over his 2019 protest and had his academic transcript withheld by UM, said “nothing has changed” at the public varsity despite a new top management and three years having passed.
“When we try to discuss the matter academically using so-called ‘proper platforms’, UM chooses to silence us,” he said in a Twitter thread. “Therefore, they can’t blame us for being radical, protesting and escalating the movement to make our voices heard.”
Wong also urged UM freshies to not allow UM to “domesticate” them and read up on the history of university autonomy in Malaysia so they can “figure out” for themselves “why UM regresses instead of progresses”.
He added: “Do not be afraid to speak up, seek the truth and challenge the norm if you think it’s wrong and even if the status quo might find it displeasing; this is how society progresses.” – Oct 15, 2022
Main photo credit: The Star
