00:00Malaysian academic movement Deputy Chairman Zaharul Nayin said exempting public universities
00:07from the Statutory Body's Discipline and Surcharge Act 2000 will encourage more scholarly
00:13discussions instead of unfounded statements made by Kangkong professors.
00:18Coined by academic Syed Hussein Al-Atas, the term Kangkong professors refers to faculty
00:24members who lack knowledge and do not deserve to be called thinkers or intellectuals.
00:30First proposed under the 2018 Pakatan Harapan administration but rejected by then Prime
00:35Minister Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the exemption idea was recently revisited by Higher Education
00:41Minister Zanbri Abdul Qadir to promote academic freedom.
00:45Zaharul said the act was restrictive and needed to be abolished to allow universities, academics
00:51and students to freely pursue knowledge based on critical thinking and evidence.
00:57Meanwhile, National Professors' Council Senior Fellow Teo Kok Siong said legal regulations
01:03are unnecessary to prevent academics from making unsubstantiated statements.
01:09Teo added that debates and fact-checking should be carried out to avoid wrongly punishing
01:14academics.
Comments