Take a stand on academic freedom, UM students tell VC at sit-in
Universiti Malaya students held a sit-in today in support of one their lecturers who was hauled up by police on Friday over an article published in The Malaysian Insider.
UM Association of New Youth (Umany) said vice-chancellor professor Datuk Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin must make a stand on academic freedom after Dr Khoo Ying Hooi was investigated for defamation over the article, "Who owns the police?", which appeared in the news portal on March 16.
She had criticised police over the arrest of activists and politicians after the #KitaLawan rally on March 7.
Umany president Teh Wei Loon said they wanted Amin to state his stand on several issues involving academic staff.
"From June last year, our VC never made a statement on these (issues) although our academic freedom has been damaged again and again by the authorities. As the VC, he should be the front-line to defend academic freedom.
"I hope the VC can make a stand… that we, the staff, administrators and students, are going to defend academic freedom," he said during the sit-in.
About 20 students joined the 30-minute protest held in front of the Chancellery Hall in the presence of security personnel.
Teh, who is also the deputy president of the UM student council, criticised the police for trying to create fear among academic staff to stop them from speaking out.
"Police, under the leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, has restricted academic freedom," he said referring to Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
"The objective of university research is to give critical opinions for society to develop. Why do police deprive lecturers' rights to give critical views?"
Khoo is being investigated under Section 500 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation over the article.
In the article, the senior lecturer had said that the police have come under criticism for continuing to use Section 9(5) of the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA), a law that the Court of Appeal has deemed unconstitutional, to arrest participants of #KitaLawan rallies.
Teh said the sit-in would be their first step to create awareness and the next move would depend on the resolution of Dr Khoo's case.
"This is our first step to deliver our message to society that there are still lecturers from UM who dare to tell the truth and students from UM who dare to defend the truth," Teh said.
Besides Khoo, law lecturer Dr Azmi Sharom is another UM lecturer who has been hauled up for his opinions. Azmi was charged with sedition last year for his comments in a news article on the Perak crisis.
Meanwhile, the UM Students Association (PMUM) president Mohamad Ammar Atan said they plan to hold a meeting with the university vice chancellor to discuss Dr Khoo's case. – March 31, 2015.
