By Murray Hunter
THE issue of racism in Malaysian higher education has long been vigorously debated.
The application of the New Economic Policy (NEP) to the university sector introduced positive discrimination in favour of Bumiputeras.
This policy also extended to staff recruitment.
Based on my own observations over more than a decade in Malaysian higher education, foreign academics have often been preferred over equally qualified non-Malay Malaysian citizens.
Such practices were frequently justified because they would help improve the international rankings of public universities.
Just yesterday, Kedah Executive Councillor Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah, a former Vice-Chancellor of Universiti Utara Malaysia, was charged for suggesting that certain elites enjoy easy access to higher education.
His case is likely to open a Pandora’s box of issues that will emerge during the trial.
I was once told in confidence by a public university Vice-Chancellor that Vice-Chancellors were previously selected by higher education ministers largely for their ability to advance the “Malay agenda” in public universities.
Similarly, during the Pakatan Harapan 1.0 administration, former Higher Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik was criticised for appointing senior IKRAM-linked academics to top positions in public universities between 2018 and 2020.
The cumulative effect of these policies has been the creation of a form of elitism in public universities, characterised by a particular mindset that fosters a culture of ignorance and disdain towards ideas and perspectives outside its narrow worldview on higher education.
Over many decades, this has contributed to a strong culture of racism and bigotry.
I have personally seen documentary evidence of resulting discrimination against foreign academics in Malaysia.
As a consequence, their numbers are declining, with many leaving for higher education systems that are not burdened by this skewed culture.
One striking example is a SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) suit filed by a major Malaysian university against a former employee.
The academic described to me the intense bigotry she faced, which ultimately made her position at the university untenable.
Bigotry Now Spilling Over to Social Media
This toxic culture is now spreading onto social media, often perpetuated by members of the so-called educational elite themselves.
Dr Razali Mahfar, Executive Director of the International Institute of Public Policy and a board member of Universiti Malaya, publicly clashed with Dr Geoffrey Williams over the latter’s article titled “If Malaysia Has World-Class Universities, Why Are There So Many Underemployed Graduates?”
In a LinkedIn comment on the article, Dr Razali threatened Dr Williams, stating that he “should be deported back to the UK.”
Such comments are demeaning to the standards of higher education and set a very poor example for younger academics working in the Malaysian system.
These incidents point to deep cultural problems within Malaysian universities — problems that undermine not only freedom of speech and academic freedom, but the very foundational principles of education itself.
Such mentalities stifle critical thinking, creativity and suppress innovation. From personal experience, I can attest that a toxic culture exists within many Malaysian universities that is fundamentally counter-productive to the core mission of higher education.
This issue deserves serious attention, open debate, and concrete solutions from all stakeholders in the higher education sector. – June 26, 2026
The observations reflect the writer's personal insights and do not necessarily represent the official stance of The Vibes.com
