Malaysian Academics Movement (MOVE/GERAK)

Media Statement

30 November 2017

The Malaysian Academics Movement (MOVE/GERAK) is shocked and appalled that the management of the University of Malaya (UM) has the gall to remind its academics to restrain from issuing public statements. This restriction may include not informing prospective students about available degree programs and their structures. Even lectures and publications are not spared from this muzzling. It also seems that academics should stop publishing research papers, and it is an oxymoron that the reminder was sent out by the UM Integrity Unit.

Issuing public statements is one of the required performance of academics. The UNESCO ‘Recommendation concerning the Status of Higher-Education Teaching Personnel’ clearly support this contention.

Article 26 of the Recommendation clearly states that:

“Higher-education teaching personnel, like all other groups and individuals, should enjoy those internationally recognized civil, political, social and cultural rights applicable to all citizens. Therefore, all higher-education teaching personnel should enjoy freedom of thought, conscience, religion, expression, assembly and association, as well as the right to liberty and security of the person and liberty of movement. They should not be hindered or impeded in exercising their civil rights as citizens, including the right to contribute to social change through freely expressing their opinion of state policies and of policies affecting higher education. They should not suffer any penalties simply because of the exercise of such rights. Higher-education teaching personnel should not be subject to arbitrary arrest or detention, nor to torture, nor to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. In cases of gross violation of their rights, higher-education teaching personnel should have the right to appeal to the relevant national, regional or international bodies, such as the agencies of the United Nations, and organizations representing higher-education teaching personnel should extend full support in such cases.” 

The UNESCO General Assembly, including Malaysia, approved the Recommendation on 11 November 1997. This makes it obligatory for all Malaysian universities to diligently comply with the Recommendation.

UM has academic freedom as one of its core values. This latest ill-conceived reminder seems to ask the academics and UM to deviate, not just from its core values but also from functioning as a proper university. This will definitely kill the fighting spirit of the academics working for UM to become a world class university.

GERAK demands that UM retract the reminder and bring back academic freedom as one of its core values. UM’s position as a high ranking university will be in jeopardy if no action is taken.

GERAK also urges the Vice Chancellor to meet with UM academics union, the ‘Persatuan Kakitangan Akademik Universiti Malaya’ (PKAUM), in the spirit of collegiality, to work together to allow UM to continue to be the top university in Malaysia and do better internationally. We have been informed that no meeting has taken place since the new Vice Chancellor took office about a month ago.

On behalf of GERAK,

Rosli Mahat

General Secretary

Pergerakan Tenaga Akademik Malaysia (GERAK)

Tel: +60166205242