Archive for category university
As video goes viral, should education policy be scrutinised?
Posted by Kit in Education, Media, university on Tuesday, 15 January 2013
— M. Lee
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 15, 2013
JAN 15 — I was extremely disappointed with the conduct of Sharifah Zohra Jabeen as seen in the video at the UUM forum that has gone viral.
As a labour market and development economist, I agreed with Bawani’s statement implying that the economic impacts of educational funding have to be properly analysed to make the right policy directions.
Many countries around the world such as Australia and United States have constantly studied the best educational strategies that will develop and educate the nation. Albeit they are already developed nations.
It is not to my intent to say that the Malaysian government is not trying to adjust and design optimal education policies. However, Sharifah Zohra Jabeen has seemingly assumed the role of a government representative by replying “if you equate Malaysia to other countries, what are you doing in Malaysia? Go to Cuba, go to Argentina, go to Libra, go everywhere.”
My question is: has she been elected as a representative of the government? Is this the stand and belief of the government and the university?
What is more appalling is for an academically trained person to provide such a statement in an academic institution. Read the rest of this entry »
The Malaysian government is “broken” and that’s why it must be “fixed” in 13th GE
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Brain drain, Corruption, Education, Elections, environment, Judiciary, Najib Razak, university on Monday, 26 November 2012
Over the weekend, in his speech to the state-sponsored NGO gathering “Himpunan Barisan 1Malaysia” at the Putra World Trade Centre, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said:
“Why fix it (the government) if it’s not broken? It’s not broken, far from it. Our country is the envy of many other nations.”
Both at the thousand-people Himpunan Kebangkitan Rakyat dinner in Kota Kinabalu on Saturday night and the People’s Green Assembly at Dataran Merdeka this morning at the conclusion of the historic 14-day 300-km Kuantan-Kuala Lumpur trek, I had posed the same question whether the “Malaysian government is broken and needs to be fixed?”, and the answer is a thunderous, powerful and united affirmative!
Fortunately, the Malaysian government has not broken down completely, all the more why it must be “fixed” immediately before it reaches a point of no return.
There is a long list why the Malaysian government is “broken” after 55 years of UMNO/BN rule and needs to be “fixed”, but I will only refer to the following instances: Read the rest of this entry »
Can University of Malaya leapfrog in QS World University Rankings 2012 to be released in 20 days’ time to restore her previous place as one of the world’s top 100 universities before 2015?
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Thursday, 23 August 2012
At the University of Malaya’s centennial celebrations in June 2005, the then Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak threw the challenge to University of Malaya to raise its 89th position among the world’s top 100 universities in THES-QS (Times Higher Education Supplement-Quacquarelli Symonds) ranking in 2004 to 50 by the year 2020.
Instead of accepting Najib’s challenge with incremental improvement of its THES ranking, the premier university went into a free fall when in 2005 and 2006 it fell to 169th and 192nd ranking respectively, and in the following two years in 2007 and 2008, fell out of the 200 Top Universities ranking altogether.
In 2009, University of Malaya made a comeback to the 200 Top Universities Ranking when it was placed No. 180, but in 2010 it again fell out of the 200 Top Universities list when it dropped to 207th placing.
For the 2011 QS Top 200 Universities Ranking, University of Malaya returned to the Top 200 Universities Ranking, being placed at No. 167.
In the THES-QS World University Rankings 2009, University of Malaya leapfrogged 50 places from No. 230 placing in 2008 to No. 180 in 2009; while in the 2011 QS World University Ranking, University of Malaya leapt 40 places from No. 207 in 2010 to No. 167 in 2011.
The QS World University Rankings 2012 will be released in 20 days’ time. Can University of Malaya make another leapfrog as in 2009 and 2011 to seriously restore her place as one of the world’s top 100 universities by before 2015? Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia The Unready
Posted by Kit in 1Malaysia, Elections, Human Rights, Parliament, Perak, university on Thursday, 19 July 2012
— Tota
The Malaysian Insider
Jul 19, 2012
JULY 19 — In English history there is King Æthelred The Unready. He earned this nickname because he was never ready for anything good or wise. Bolehland displays many similar characteristics to qualify to be called “Malaysia The Unready”.
The Umno-dominated BN government has shown a stubborn refusal to make Malaysia a truly democratic state where the rule of law, civil rights and liberties, equality and justice are respected and practised. The Umno-dominated BN government’s mantra is that Malaysia is not ready for so many things that are basic in all truly democratic and progressive countries.
Malaysia The Unready is not ready to:
● make Malaysia a truly democratic, secular state as enshrined in the Constitution.
● make Parliament democratically functional with an elected Speaker.
● have an elected Senate. Read the rest of this entry »
PTPTN/Unisel farce
Posted by Kit in UMNO, university on Friday, 8 June 2012
Tweets @limkitsiang
Jun 07, 11:06pm
Utter shame UMNO/BN leaders victimising Unisel students with PTPTN freeze goo.gl/I5qJl S’gor stands firm, Unisel 2liquidate assets
Jun 07, 11:08pm
Let all voters in Selangor n Msia punish Umno/BN in 13GE 4such petty vindictive bullying tactics sacrificing Unisel students 4selfish ends
Jun 07, 11:12pm
PTPTN/Unisel latest example UMNO/BN must be voted out of power in Putrajaya in 13GE – lost moral right/legitimacy 2continue as govt
Jun 07, 11:22pm
After slashing PTPTN loans 4Unisel students? How irresponsible! goo.gl/3XwHB Gov’t mulls second round of RM500 handout (Mkini)
Jun 07, 11:27pm
No one in Cabinet 2speak up 4Unisel students n condemn criminal breach of trust in halting PTPTN loans?Will Saifuddin Abdullah take a stand?
Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia after regime change
Posted by Kit in Economics, Elections, UMNO, university on Monday, 14 May 2012
— Hal Hill
The Malaysian Insider
May 14, 2012
MAY 14 — There is much to admire about Malaysia, in addition to it being arguably the world’s best place to eat. Its development record is admirable. Since independence in 1957, its per capita income has risen eight-fold. It has long since left behind its two earlier comparators, Ghana and Sri Lanka. It features prominently and positively in all major international economic comparisons, from the World Bank’s 1993 East Asian Miracle to the 2008 Growth Commission report. The 2.5 million to three million migrant workers are there for a good reason — even if they are sometimes subject to abuse, life is a lot better than in their homelands.
As a result of the country’s adept macroeconomic management, it has suffered just one serious economic setback, in 1997-98. That event had its origins at least partly in external factors, and it was promptly overcome, without the “assistance” of the IMF. The country has managed to avoid the “resource curse”, which has bedevilled the majority of resource-rich developing countries. It features well on most comparative rankings, such as the Bank’s Doing Business, and the Global Competitiveness Report.
Along with Singapore, it has enjoyed an early mover advantage from its adoption in the early 1970s of export-oriented industrialisation through foreign direct investment, before it was fashionable to do so. As a consequence, it is a major player in the global electronics industry. And although inequality remains high, there is no doubt that the bottom 40 per cent of Malaysian citizens have benefitted materially from the country’s economic growth.
What’s the economic problem, then? Principally, that the economy has yet to regain the dynamism evident before the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis. Even before the more recent global financial crisis, which Malaysia navigated quite successfully, economic growth in the new millennium was at least two percentage points below that of the decade 1986-96. Read the rest of this entry »
PTPTN loan is good, but …
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Tuesday, 24 April 2012
— Stephen Ng
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 24, 2012
APRIL 24 — It was on November 1, 1997 when the National Higher Education Loan (PTPTN) scheme started giving out loans. At that point in time, private colleges were starting to bloom, and foreign universities such as Monash University and Nottingham University were also invited to set up their campuses in Malaysia.
The PTPTN was created to be a rolling fund to provide loans to students who could not afford tertiary education, because very few banks in those days were willing to provide the loans. Even banks were charging higher interest fees for students who opted for the loans compared to the PTPTN.
Besides, the cost of private education is higher than that offered by the public sector. This is understandable, because they are linked with international universities and were catering to a generation of students who would have otherwise opted to go overseas. There was also no government funding to make available teaching equipment in these private universities.
I remember former Health Minister Dr Chua Soi Lek visiting a medical faculty in a private college. He made such a big fuss, complaining that the facilities for the newly set up medical faculty were not on par with the public universities. In my heart, I asked: “In the first place, how much has the government provided in soft loans to these private colleges?” Dr Chua, of course, never helped to fight for government funding to boost private education sector.
As I see it now, with the exception of certain colleges, the private education sector has in fact met the aspirations of the young people of Malaysia. Because of the PTPTN, many students have been able to pursue their education. Otherwise, they would not have been able to continue their education overseas, or even locally in the public universities due to the quota system.
My question therefore is why is the PTPTN now the subject of ridicule? Read the rest of this entry »
BN could suffer for attack on students
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Human Rights, Kee Thuan Chye, university on Saturday, 21 April 2012
Kee Thuan Chye
Free Malaysia Today
April 21, 2012
Perception is what counts in politics. And the perception that has already set in among the discerning public, not only discerning students, is that Umno hired the thugs.
COMMENT
Barisan Nasional has probably just lost the votes of university students who are bright, perceptive and can think for themselves.
These students would have been reviled by the recent attack on the student protesters camped out at Dataran Merdeka by a gang of 50 thugs. They would have seen this as a shameful act of violence against their fellow students, who were helpless and defenceless.
They would have seen this as an act to frighten the students into ending their protest calling for PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation) loans to be written off.
Those who are bright and up to speed about politics in this country would automatically assume that this is the work of forces bigger than the thugs. For why should thugs randomly attack the students and beat some of them up, including women? What would be their motive for doing so?
The assumption would most likely be that the forces behind the attack are members of the ruling party – for who, more than anyone else, would want to see the protest end sooner? Read the rest of this entry »
Kuasa bukannya hak milik kekal, ia hanya TOL sahaja
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, UMNO, university on Friday, 20 April 2012
— Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 20, 2012
20 APRIL — Negara kita semakin hari semakin bercelaru dengan berkembangnya budaya samseng dan semua samseng-samseng ini adalah mereka yang menyebelahi pihak berkuasa. Pihak yang berkuasa sedang dalam keadaann desperado untuk mempertahankan kuasa dan mereka sedang mabuk dengan kuasa itu. Tindakan sekumpulan samseng memukul dan membelasah mahasiswa-mahasiswa yang sedang menuntut keadilan untuk masa depan mereka di Dataran Merdeka semalam amat menyayat hati. Mungkin sekarang ramai yang tidak merasa apa-apa tetapi orang yang miskin seperti saya dan ramai yang lain amat memahami perasaan mereka.
Nampaknya tidak ada siapa yang boleh menuntut apa-apa yang mereka anggap hak mereka dalam negara kita lagi. Sesungguhnya inilah kesilapan orang Melayu khasnya dan rakyat Malaysia amnya yang selama ini terlalu memberi muka kepada BN untuk memerintah negara ini sejak merdeka. Sebagaimana yang saya sebut selalu pihak berkuasa seolah-olah tidak boleh dipersoalkan lagi kerana mereka menganggap negara ini adalah hak mereka sahaja untuk berkuasa maka siapa sahaja yang mempunyai pendapat yang berlainan akan dipukul dan dicederakan.
Apabila mereka merasakan kuasa akan hilang maka mereka bertindak bukan sahaja membiarkan samseng-samseng melakukan apa sahaja ke atas anak-anak muda yang sedang menuntut keadilan dan berjuang untuk masa depan mereka dalam negara mereka sendiri. Pemimpin-pemimpin yang tidak bertanggungjawab pula membuat kenyataan-kenyataan yang memihak kepada samseng-samseng ini dan mengutuk tindakan mahasiswa untuk melakukan apa yang mereka wajar lakukan. Read the rest of this entry »
Let’s send Hishammuddin a message
Posted by Kit in Bersih, Elections, Hishammuddin, Police, university on Thursday, 19 April 2012
— Gomen Man
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012
APRIL 19 — So the man who believes that it is birth right to become prime minister has decided to speak more often.
See, Hishammuddin Hussein after being blamed by his cousin for the Bersih 2.0 fallout decided to maintain radio silence. He figured that with 40 per cent of the voters in his Sembrong constituency Chinese, he needed to slip under the radar and make sure he actually retains his seat in the coming polls.
He and his advisers figured that if he kept quiet and didn’t antagonise anyone, then people would forget about the keris, about his handling of the cowhead protest and his demonisation of Bersih rallygoers as thugs.
So he said little about the replacement ISA law but you can’t keep someone who believes in noblisse oblige down too long.
This smug man today is belittling Bersih 3.0, saying that it will not have much traction. This is the Umno man talking, the arrogance of incumbency.
He even said that the students at Dataran Merdeka who were beaten up early this morning should not be believed. I suppose the beating was “self-inflicted”. The pattern of thuggish behaviour by Umno, Perkasa and Pekida has been evident over the last few months. Read the rest of this entry »
PTPTN: We didn’t start the fire
Posted by Kit in Education, university on Thursday, 19 April 2012
by Praba Ganesan
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012
APRIL 19 — When I jumped off the bus at noon to register at UKM (Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia) not many noticed the scraggly looking teenager with a mega-large bag. It was so large; it had clothes, a chess set and even a typewriter. It was the early Nineties and Kurt Cobain was alive making music.
Every student had about 20 family members coming to send them off. It was that big a deal, going to a public university. There were no private universities and the private “colleges” were only offering twinning programmes at best.
The old ethos: few go to university and many after secondary education join the employment market.
This changed with the great expansion before the millennium, around the time the PTPTN national loan system came around.
Mahathir’s Malaysia was to be a developed nation in record time, and millions of graduates have to line up and march in unison as people in the capital cheered them on with confetti drowning the uninitiated.
This vision required universities opening almost every month, in every state, in every way and many tuition centres around the Klang Valley turning into university colleges. Major government-linked companies were turning their training centres into universities, and Mahathir Mohamad was still riding horses.
The PTPTN answered the money issue. And now on the table sits the proposal to abolish it.
You don’t have to agree or disagree, but you have to realise that the issue is not straightforward. The overdrive the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is in to respond to is the indicator. Read the rest of this entry »
Bullying is cowardly, is this the kind of leadership our young will inherit?
Posted by Kit in Human Rights, Police, university on Thursday, 19 April 2012
— May Chee Chook Ying
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 19, 2012
APRIL 19 — Read that at 3 this morning, the university students and protesters at Dataran Merdeka were attacked by 40-50 thugs. Their tents and supplies were torn down. They were both physically and verbally abused. Some women were kicked in the faces while fast asleep, many injured and one reportedly hospitalised.
No second guesses to whom these thugs are beholden to. Raiding in the middle of the night, at 3am? If they dared to flash the colour of their shirts, why didn’t they justify their actions in broad daylight? This is not the first time our courageous young people have been attacked or needed to seek medical treatment after being attacked. Is “lawlessness” acceptable by the powers-that-be but not peaceful assemblies? This is senseless! Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysians fail to get into Harvard for second year running
Posted by Kit in Education, Muhyiddin Yassin, university on Saturday, 7 April 2012
by Lee Wei Lian
The Malaysian Insider
Apr 07, 2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Malaysians failed to gain admission into the world’s most prestigious university for the second year in a row due to a slide in the quality of applicants, said Harvard University’s selection panel chief for Malaysia.
Not only did no Malaysian student receive an offer letter but none apparently was even good enough to make it to the interview rounds.
This comes after a controversy erupte over the quality of Malaysian education when Education Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin pointed to a World Economic Forum report to claim that Malaysians had a higher standard of education compared to that in some advanced countries.
Opposition lawmaker Tony Pua later rubbished Muhyiddin’s claims, pointing to another international study — the PISA 2009+ — that showed Malaysian students lagging far behind western nations in terms of literacy, mathematics and scientific understanding.
Datuk Dr Goh Cheng Teik, who leads the Harvard team that interviews prospective Malaysian students, said he was informed the quality of applicants had deteriorated. Read the rest of this entry »
Cadangan PR untuk memansuhkan PTPTN wajar mendapat sokongan
Posted by Kit in Pakatan Rakyat, UMNO, university on Sunday, 1 April 2012
by Aspan Alias
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 31, 2012
31 MAC — PTPTN wajar dimansuhkan dan saya bersetuju dengan cadangan Pakatan Rakyat(PR) untuk menghapuskannya jika PR diberikan mandat oleh rakyat dalam pilihanraya kali ini. Saya telah menulis isu pembiayaan pelajaran ini banyak kali kerana isu pelajaran dan pendidikan adalah isu teras dalam pembangunan negara. Pendidikan selalunya percuma di negara-negara maju.
Janganlah kita mengaku yang negara kita adalah negara maju dan rakyat yang berpendapatan tinggi tidak lama lagi tetapi kita tidak nampak tanda-tanda hasrat yang dilaungkan oleh PM Najib itu akan tercapai seratus tahun lagi. Takkanlah dengan memberikan wang ehsan RM500 baru-baru ini telah menjadikan negara kita rakyat yang berpendapatan tinggi.
Di kesebelasan negara-negara Scandinavia pelajaran adalah percuma. Di Germany juga percuma dan di Perancis dan banyak lagi negara-negara lain yang memberikan pendidikan dan pelajaran percuma sehingga peringkat tertinggi. Di negara-negara tersebut tidak ada nampak pemimpin politiknya pergi ke kawasan masing-masing menabur wang 500 euro dan sebagainya. Mereka tidak pun sibuk mendabik dada yang mereka telah memberikan sedikit kelegaan kepada rakyat mereka. Read the rest of this entry »
BN has failed the Indian community
Posted by Kit in Elections, Indians, university on Monday, 26 March 2012
— S. Barathidasan
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 26, 2012
MARCH 26 — The Malaysian Indians Progressive Association (MIPAS) has done surveys, studies, gained information and feedback from the rakyat showing that it is not true that the rakyat’s support for Barisan Nasional (BN) is peaking based on the party’s record of fulfilling its promises, as claimed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
MIPAS feels that it is not true that “big winds” are blowing towards BN.
The rakyat still does not have confident and full trust in the BN government as many issues have still not been fulfilled. Read the rest of this entry »
Malaysia’s political reform: Academic freedom
Posted by Kit in Education, Human Rights, university on Wednesday, 21 March 2012
— Ahmad Iskandar
The Malaysian Insider
Mar 21, 2012
MARCH 21 — Towards the end of 2011, several incidents unfolded bringing the issue of academic freedom to the fore of Malaysia’s public discourse. Among them were the demonstrations held to oppose University and University College Act (UUCA 1975), one in PWTC and another in UPSI. Adam Adli and Safwan Anang, emerged as voices to champion the cause. However, we will not discuss demonstrations here, but we will explore briefly the main issue underlying the demonstrations, which is academic freedom. Systematically, we will look into its definition, the examples of the lack of freedom, the solutions and their implications.
Borrowing from The Lima Declaration on Academic Freedom and Autonomy of Institutions of Higher Education, academic freedom is defined as “the freedom of members of the academic community individually or collectively, in the pursuit, development and transmission of knowledge, through research, study, discussion, documentation, production, creation, teaching, lecturing and writing.” To ascertain whether academic freedom was observed or not, we will use four categories of relationship– academic freedom between government and institutions, administrators and academics, among peers and finally by external factors. By looking at these four categories, we can conclude that academic freedom is rarely observed in Malaysia.
Generally, there are two clear factors that show the absence of academic freedom in local universities. Read the rest of this entry »
Renungan di angkasa
Posted by Kit in Education, university, Zairil Khir Johari on Friday, 27 January 2012
by Zairil Khir Johari
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 27, 2012
27 JAN — Sebaik sahaja enjin pesawat mula bergema tandanya bakal berlepas, saya terus memejamkan mata merenung perbualan di lapangan terbang sebentar tadi.
Semasa menunggu di balai perlepasan, saya telah terserempak dengan seorang sahabat lama keluarga. Walaupun sudah lama tidak berjumpa, masa tidak mengizinkan omongan panjang. Maka selepas bertanya khabar saya terus menjunam ke dalam topik yang sedang hangat dibicarakan umum.
“Memandangkan Pakcik pernah menjadi ahli lembaga pengarah Universiti Malaya, apakah pendapat Pakcik tentang beberapa insiden kebangkitan mahasiswa baru-baru ini dan tindakan tatatertib yang dikenakan ke atas mereka?”
Pesara yang bergelar Tan Sri itu terus tersenyum. “Saya bukan sahaja bekas ahli lembaga pengarah, saya juga seorang graduan UM! Tetapi untuk menjawab soalan kamu, saya amat mengesali suasana pendidikan tinggi di negara kita dewasa ini.”
Saya menoleh sekejap ke arah pintu perlepasan. Tiada aktiviti lagi. “Bagaimana tu?”
“Sebab di mana kita sepatutnya mendahului, kita sudah jauh ketinggalan, dalam segala aspek,” ujar Tan Sri yang selama 36 tahun telah mencurahkan khidmat bakti untuk tanahair. “Begini, kita bermula dari awal. Kita negara yang bernasib baik kerana telah mewarisi institusi-institusi yang matang. Itu tidak boleh dinafikan. Antara kuasa-kuasa imperialisme yang telah menakluki dunia semasa era kolonial, boleh dikatakan bahawa kuasa British adalah penjajah yang paling baik. Ataupun sekurang-kurangnya, yang paling kurang zalim. Setuju?” Read the rest of this entry »
Wire Up, or Miss Out on Tomorrow’s Jobs
Posted by Kit in Articles, IT, university on Friday, 6 January 2012
Thomas L. Friedman | January 05, 2012
The Jakarta Globe
Two things struck me about the Republican presidential candidate debates leading up to the Iowa caucuses. One is how entertaining they were. The other is how disconnected they were from the biggest trends shaping the job market of the 21st century. What if the 2012 campaign were actually about the world in which we’re living and how we adapt to it? What would the candidates be talking about?
Surely at or near the top of that list would be the tightening merger between globalization and the latest information technology revolution. The IT revolution is giving individuals more and more cheap tools of innovation, collaboration and creativity — thanks to hand-held computers, social networks and “the cloud,” which stores powerful applications that anyone can download.
And the globalization side of this revolution is integrating more and more of these empowered people into ecosystems, where they can innovate and manufacture more products and services that make people’s lives more healthy, educated, entertained, productive and comfortable.
The best of these ecosystems will be cities and towns that combine a university, an educated populace, a dynamic business community and the fastest broadband connections on earth. These will be the job factories of the future. The countries that thrive will be those that build more of these towns that make possible “high-performance knowledge exchange and generation,” explains Blair Levin, who runs the Aspen Institute’s Gig.U project, a consortium of 37 university communities working to promote private investment in next-generation ecosystems. Read the rest of this entry »
The government doth protest too much
Posted by Kit in Politics, university, Youth on Thursday, 5 January 2012
— Azmil Tayeb
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 05, 2012
JAN 5 — In my previous incarnation as a student in the United States, I occasionally attended gatherings at the Malaysian Embassy and consulate offices, some of which were hosted to receive various ministers and other high-ranking government officials.
In addition to being stuffed with delicious home-made Malaysian food — the main reason why I think most of us were there — we were also fed with the exhortations that we were not supposed to get involved in politics, not to pay any attention to the political issues currently brewing in Malaysia, and instead to solely focus on our studies.
Don’t sweat your innocent, highly impressionable minds with all these slanders and negativities you hear from home, said the avuncular minister. The time will come soon enough for you to get involve and subsequently enjoy the experience of being bashed senseless in the head by the FRU.
Okay, the minister didn’t say that last part. But the point I’m trying make here is that there’s no better moment to assume a proactive role in the society than during this unique window of time and place occupied by these so-called innocent, highly impressionable minds.
The recent “controversy” concerning the lowering of the PM’s banner at PWTC by the students and the alleged assault on student activists at UPSI on new year’s day by the police brings to light the familiar issue of whether Malaysian students should be allowed to get involved in politics, particularly via protests and other acts of civil disobedience. Read the rest of this entry »
Designed to make us free
Posted by Kit in Police, university on Wednesday, 4 January 2012
– Ang Jian Wei
The Malaysian Insider
Jan 04, 2012
JAN 4 — Upon returning from the New Year’s countdown, the last thing I expected to read was news of a clash between the police and the student body that decided to hold a sit-in outside Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI). The latter did so to champion academic freedom.
The result of that clash is a terrible way to start the year. The reaction of a just government should always be measured and proportional to the incident at hand — even if it’s done in the name of security. That did not seem to be the case in Tanjung Malim. It was way out of line and uncalled for.
It bordered on paranoia.
The numbers don’t add up. Why on earth do we need the police to demand the dispersal of a sit-in demonstration that we all know is temporary? These are students and their most lethal weapons are probably flashlights and an amplifier. I don’t think that will cause anybody to wet his/her pants. Read the rest of this entry »
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