Debating Differences: Tough Conversations on Intellectual Freedom

An American professor made headlines recently when he was invited to speak at University Malaya, in his talk titled “Will Malaysia Become an Active Middle Power” but was heavily criticised after he purportedly claimed that Malaysia had pushed for a “second Holocaust against the Jewish people”. This brought to light conversations around academic freedom. So we hear from academics as well as students about this, and then ask our listeners whether they think universities should be a space for difficult conversations.

Voices we heard from:

1. Dr Munirah Alatas, Independent Scholar & Deputy Chair of the Malaysian Academic Movement (GERAK)

2. Dr Zaid Omar, Associate Professor from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Former Director of Students at the Ministry of Higher Education

3. Abqari Annuar, President of Suarasiswa UM

4. Raja Arif Raja Afifuddin, Speaker of Kesatuan Mahasiswa UKM

5. Brendon Gan, Assistant Coordinator of Demokrat UKM

Image Credit: Amir Ridhwan, Shutterstock