Politicians must not make baseless allegations and turn academicians into scapegoats for their own mistakes, said a local varsity lecturer today.

"The politicians should learn about the role of universities in society before making irresponsible statements to gain political mileage. They cannot simply tarnish the image of universities," said University Sains Malaysia's Assoc Prof Wan Abdul Manan Wan Muda.

Abdul Manan was responding to a report in the New Straits Times today which quoted Penang Deputy Chief Minister Dr Hilmi Yahya as saying that the state government had identified 44 academic staff members from USM who have been "inciting students against the government".

Thirty-two of those identified were said to be from the main campus in Minden, while 12 others from the branch campus in Transkrian, both in Penang.

The minister did not disclose the list and reportedly said he would meet with USM administrators to discuss the matter.

Abdul Manan, who is USM's Academic and Administrative Staff Association president, said to the best of his knowledge, no USM lecturers had been issued any show-cause letter thus far.

He said the university should sue the minister if the latter fails to provide proof to substantiate his allegation.

"This only shows how arrogant politicians can be. They can say anything but lecturers who are more educated and learned are not allowed to make any public statement," said an annoyed Abdul Manan.

He also questioned the criteria of determining "incitement": "What do the politicians mean by 'inciting'? Does that include a rational argument backed by facts and figures?"

Being watched

Abdul Manan said universities should uphold the long tradition of disseminating knowledge, speaking the truth and advocating noble ideas; and not serve the interest of any political party.

Local varsities are held accountable to the Ministry of Education and not politicians, added the academician.

However, he noted that academic freedom had largely been curtailed compared to the past, therefore limiting the space for creative thinking and new discoveries.

University lecturers are "being watched", he lamented.

Due to diverse education backgrounds and personal experiences, academic staff are bound to have different ideas, explained Abdul Manan.

"But ideas can and should be debated, There are always discourses which lecturers can engage in," he said.

Warning or threat

Another USM lecturer also said he was caught by surprise with the statement made by the deputy chief minister.

"I hope they do not see being critical of the government as inciting hatred because this will stagnate the learning process on campuses," said the lecturer, who declined to be named.

"This is probably just a warning or threat to make sure that we do not cross the line. It is unlikely for the university to come down on lecturers," he added.

Some may doubt this optimism.

Early this month, Universiti Teknologi Mara or UiTM was the first to heed the government's call in taking stern actions to curb the growing influence of 'anti-government movements' one lecturer was sacked while 47 other staff were transferred to other branch campuses.

Prior to that, a number of national leaders including Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had reportedly claimed that there were lecturers responsible for instigating students to be involved in anti-government activities.

Minister of Education Senator Musa Mohamed recently said the ministry will likely require students and lecturers to sign a 'good conduct agreement' starting from the next intake.

Meanwhile, USM vice-chancellor Prof Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, who is currently overseas, could not be reached for comment.