"Saya Tahu India Macam Mana" - A UM Professor's Racist Words Have Not Fallen On Deaf Ears
The Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaya has promised to get to the bottom of the matter.
By Tang Ruxyn — 24 Feb 2017, 05:26 PM
A student at University Malaysia (UM) has demanded an apology from a Professor after the lecturer allegedly insulted her and a friend during class recently
A Facebook post which begins with the title 'Voice of an Indian student', posted by one Lalitha Sudeshna, details an unpleasant account between the writer and a lecturer who purportedly hurled racist remarks at Indian students.
It all started when the writer took time off work and rushed to class with a friend named Rinishah. Upon entering the class with the friend, they greeted the lecturer, who is a Professor, and walked towards their seat.
However, they were abruptly stopped by the lecturer who refused to let them sit together.
The lecturer allegedly said in Malay, "India, saya tak suka India duduk bersama-sama." (I don’t like it when Indian students sit together.)
"India duduk sama-sama lepas itu akan tiru assignment dan plagiarise. Saya kenal India." (When Indian sit together, they will copy and plagiarise their assignments. I know how Indians work.)
She went on saying, "Saya akan pastikan awak dan kawan awak tak akan dapat kumpulan sama untuk buat assignment. Saya tahu India macam mana." (I will ensure that you and your friends will not be in the same group for any assignments. I know how Indians are.)
The writer was shell-shocked at what she had heard for herself.
"I was infuriated by her racist remarks towards me and my friend; I did not expect this from a well-educated person, especially a person whose title is 'Professor'."
But that wasn't the end. The lecturer was relentless with her insults.
"She did not stop, she was merciless as she proceeded to insult other Indian students. How would the 'Wawasan 2020' be fulfilled if we have educators like this in 'Malaysia's Top Public University'?" the post read.
"She went on defending her atrocious behaviour by confessing that this is her style and proceeded to encourage students to not promote UM to anyone else, as she prefers her class to be smaller in number."
Apparently, this is not a one-time outburst as the student claimed that the lecturer had insulted her and others on another occasion
According to the post, the writer had met the said lecturer and two other lecturers for a session with the faculty on orientation day.
"Her first words were indeed hurtful and demotivating. 'Do you think you can do Masters with just two years experience? You and your friends can never graduate together, I challenge you. You do your business and I will do my business.' Her words crushed our eager selves who thirsted for knowledge."
The writer said that she has "never felt more insulted than before". She said that she and her friend were hurt emotionally.
The writer added that it's a "shame that such lecturer or former student hails from 'Malaysia's Top Public University' while stressing that "respect does not come with papers and titles but attitude".
"She lost the respect before gaining one. Such arrogance and racism from someone who should be an inspiration," the post read.
At the time of writing, the Facebook post has received more than 9,500 shares since it was first published on 21 February.
Responding to the matter, Deputy Education Minister P Kamalanathan has announced that the university will be conducting a probe into the allegations
"I take a serious view of the allegation by a student against a Professor cum lecturer at University Malaya who was disrespectful and prejudicial towards some students."
"I immediately contacted the honourable Vice Chancellor Tan Sri Professor Dr. Mohd Amin Jalaludin to seek clarification on the allegation," he said in a statement on Facebook yesterday, 23 February.
According to Kamalanathan, Mohd Amin was aware of the allegations and said that the university "will not condone such behaviour from any staff member". He has also promised to investigate the matter by setting up a five-member panel.
It is said that anyone, including the lecturer, who is found guilty of the tarnishing the good name of the university, will be penalised.