Malaysia’s intellectual crisis due to lack of academic freedom
From Mansur Ali
I refer to the letter by Syerleena Abdul Rasheed referring to an academic’s claim of Romans learning shipbuilding from the Malays and of being able to fly.
While she writes of the symptoms of the larger and sadder truth of Malaysia’s intellectual crisis, I hope she is not suggesting that this is a new phenomenon.
The malaise that has afflicted Malaysia, and sadly, many other countries in the region, is similar and has been around for decades.
The fundamental issue she has not addressed is the lack of academic freedom, and when expressed or encouraged to express, academics come up with laughable inferences such as the type that we have seen recently.
Academic freedom is fundamental in independent research being carried out, without fear or favour. This has been lacking for decades at Malaysian and other universities in the region.
When academics have to present their academic findings, they have to ensure that they do not offend politicians in power of whatever…
