KUALA LUMPUR – A Universiti Malaya (UM) student group has successfully handed over a memorandum to the university’s management on a recent alleged sexual harassment incident involving a professor from its Mathematical Sciences Institute.
The memorandum was passed to a representative from UM’s Integrity Unit after UM Feminist Club (UMFC) members and supporters were made to wait outside the UM Chancellery building for nearly 30 minutes amid heavy police presence.
Approximately 30 police personnel were there at the scene of the gathering, which was attended by several representatives from several UM student groups and the university’s academic staff association.
Police personnel, who appeared to outnumber the other attendees gathered, prevented UMFC president Chin Jes Weng from entering the administrative building, instead ordering the crowd to wait for a university representative to come down and accept the document.
The memorandum detailed that while multiple students have alleged harassment by the professor, the nation’s top university has been slow to act in an apparent disregard for student’s rights.
“Similar incidents date back to 2020, with poor handling by (UM’s) administration leading to media exposure. The media’s bureaucratic approach and ineffective anti-harassment policies have left some cases unresolved,” the memorandum stated.
It also called for an immediate suspension of the professor said to have sent nudes to students, stressing that allowing the academician to stay in his position while the university conducts investigations could “intimidate witnesses or affect evidence”.
Besides urging for a fair and thorough investigation into the professor’s alleged actions, the memorandum also said UM must address weaknesses in its anti-sexual harassment policies as it has “failed to protect students and hold offenders accountable”.
In a statement on December 16, UMFC said the explicit photos had been printed and displayed around campus as a warning to other students before they were “quickly removed”.
The student organisation had also criticised UM for rejecting a memorandum it had submitted in March on anti-sexual harassment policies.
The club claimed UM authorities had insisted that existing policies are “sufficient” while accusing students of potentially misusing them to make false accusations.
“The explicit photos case could have been prevented if the university had taken effective action in earlier incidents. By failing to act decisively, the university allowed repeated offences, forcing victims to resort to drastic measures like posting the photos.
“(UM) only responded when the case became public, raising questions on whether its priority is student safety or the institution’s reputation,” Chin told members of the media at the gathering today.
On December 18, the leading university said in a statement that it had launched an internal probe into the allegations against the professor, noting that it could not provide further details as the case had been referred to the “relevant authorities” for investigation.
It is understood that the “relevant authorities” mentioned in the statement refer to UM’s Integrity Unit. – December 20, 2024