Political interference is prevalent in Malaysian university campuses, stifling academic freedom and autonomy, says independent scholar Sharifah Munirah Alatas.
She said there is a fear or a lack of willingness among students to participate in dialogues on national and societal issues due to political pressure, which she called the “elephant in the room”.
“Politics should not have a place in a university education because it stifles creative and critical thinking. We have this problem in public universities, especially at the management level, where politics decides who heads universities,” she said at a forum here.
“It is very difficult to speak up against a system that is highly politicised because you know what would happen,” she said, hinting at repercussions that outspoken academics…