KUALA LUMPUR – Police have yet to question Malaysiakini columnist Andrew Sia over his article calling Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) an “apartheid academy” as the latter is still in hospital.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said Sia was still receiving treatment at Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.
“Sia is not yet in a suitable condition to have his statement taken,” Razarudin said in a statement.
However, police have recorded statements from 65 other individuals, to date. Of this, 63 are those who filed police reports over Sia’s opinion piece that was published on May 22.
Two others are individuals working at Malaysiakini, Razarudin said.
Previously, the IGP said Sia’s article was being investigated under Section 504 of the Penal Code, Section 14 of the Minor Offences Act 1955 and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998.
Police said Sia’s article, titled “Our apartheid academy, UiTM,” was related to a protest by UiTM students over suggestions to purportedly open the university to non-Bumiputera.
The protest led by UiTM’s student council from earlier this month called on students to wear black and to use the hashtag #MahasiswaUiTMBantah on social media.
It was in response to an appeal by the Malaysian Medical Association for UiTM to consider public interest by opening its postgraduate cardiothoracic surgery programme to non-Bumiputera doctors, as the country is facing a shortage of specialists in the field.
Sia’s article, which also questioned whether UiTM should be renamed as “Universiti Tempat Melayu,” upset many, including Umno Youth chief Dr Muhamad Akmal Saleh. – May 31, 2024