AN academic told a forum tonight that universities would never be free unless their institutions were self-governed and independent of political interference.

University Malaya’s Law Faculty’s Azmi Sharom said academic institutions should be allowed to determine the direction of their syllabus, its faculties, departments and staff.

“Political intervention makes it difficult for students to question the very system that forces them to be quiet.

“If political intervention occurs in academic institutions, then, they would be forced to sway according to the political agendas (of the day),” he said.

“Vice-chancellors of universities are determined based on key performance indicators (KPI) set by the Education Ministry.

“However, if you make a decision based on the KPI, it is not necessarily the best decision, especially in education,” Azmi said.

“I am not saying courses such as TITAS (Tamadun Islam and Tamadun Asia) are good or bad. What I am saying is that the decision to implement courses of such nature should be at the discretion of the university and not standardised by the government.” 

Azmi joined as panellist at the forum student activists Azura Nasron and Asheeq Ali, both from Gabungan Pembesasan Akedemik.

Asheeq said that a “culture of fear” had been bred over the past 61 years of Barisan Nasional rule. 

“A culture of fear has been built up for so long that some university lecturers are afraid to stand up for what they believe in.

“My university suspended me after the police and Education Ministry sent them (lecturers) letters regarding my participation in demonstrations against Malaysian Official No. 1.

“I was suspended without my voice being heard,” Asheeq said. 

“The government has the right to supervise the quality of education but should not be allowed to mould students in a certain way.” 

The panel spoke in light of Pakatan Harapan’s GE14 promise to return full autonomy to academic institutions at the forum titled Autonomi Universiti: Siapa Tipu Siapa? hosted by the Merdeka Centre in Petaling Jaya. – September 22, 2018.