Why We Should Care About Marina Mahathir’s 5th Ban From Public Universities
Socio-politic activist Marina Mahathir was denied permission from giving a talk in not only one public university, but five. But to Hew Lee Yee, that was not the most surprising thing about this issue.
Cover image via SAYS via themalaymailonline.comOn 13 Jan 2015, Marina Mahathir revealed on Facebook that she was denied entry from not only one, but five public universities. She had been invited by the students to give a talk at the campus.
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This is Marina Mahathir we're talking about! The lady who was awarded UN Person of The Year in 2010 for her commendable work in combatting HIV/AIDS.
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She is also an active campaigner for women's rights and serves as a member of the Board of Sisters in Islam
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The social activist has always been very vocal in criticising the flaws of the government. In a recent interview with SAYS, Marina spoke of her disappointment at how the authorities are using the Sedition Act to restrict free speech.
In the interview, Marina said: "The whole thing (issue with extremism in Malaysia) is about being able to express an opinion and not be penalised for it because it's different. It's about freedom of speech and freedom of expression. That's what we need to fight for. The space for expression needs to be constantly expanded and not kept narrow. IGP (Inspector-General of Police) says if you insult the police they'll get you under the Sedition Act, but the Sedition Act doesn't cover things like that."
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In the comments left on Marina's Facebook status about the university ban, Malaysians pointed out the irony of universities restricting students from learning and questioning
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Umno member Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah also voiced his disappointment, saying the spirit to the amendment of the Universities and University Colleges Act is not understood by many university administrators
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It is ironic that Marina Mahathir was denied permission from giving a talk but a seminar that spoke against Christianity was allowed at UiTM back in May 2014
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Ever since Marina broke her silence about the ban, we have been monitoring the media to see how the news would play out. To our surprise, mainstream media have barely reported the issue.
The story was picked up by three alternative online news sites The Malaysian Insider, The Rakyat Post and Free Malaysia Today. The only mainstream media that reported the issue was The Malay Mail Online. There were no mentions of her ban from major print newspapers like The Star, New Straits Times, Berita Harian and the likes. Even so, the select few new sites that did cover the issue only did a very brief coverage.
Why are there not more coverage of the news surrounding her 'ban' from these public universities?
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The issue of academic freedom is becoming ever more pressing. In October 2014, University Malaya declared an event featuring Anwar Ibrahim as an "illegal gathering" and went as far as suspending the students who organised the event.
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During the same month, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) stopped law lecturer Associate Professor Dr Azmi Sharom from speaking at an anti-Sedition Act event by chasing him out of the campus
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Universities, public or private, are a place of questioning, critical thinking, and growing. Will young minds grow to have the ability to think independently, clearly, and rationally when their teachers suppress their learning process?
Are our public universities becoming an extension of the government with a political agenda?
On a larger scale, students hold the same democratic and constitutional right to seek information and express their opinion
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Malaysian NGO Bersih 2.0 have expressed their disappointment in UM authorities for stifling the students' rights. They should be able to exercise their rights as long as they are not advocating hate speech or violence. Read about what they have to say below:
In the case of Anwar Ibrahim and Azmi Sharom, students have shown that imposing a ban will not stop them. The students and the speakers have retaliated, defied, and pushed on for their right to academic freedom.
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