KUALA LUMPUR: The Higher Education Ministry has handed the case pertaining to racist lecture materials by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), which offended the Hindu and Sikh communities, to the university’s disciplinary committee for further action.
Higher Education Minister Idris Jusoh said the committee was investigating the matter.
“We view the matter seriously because in a multiracial country, we have to have tolerance and respect for one another,” he told reporters at the Parliament Lobby today.
The lecture materials, in the form of slides for UTM’s Tamadun Islam Tamadun Asia (Titas) subject had caused an uproar among the Hindu and Sikh communities after the contents went viral recently.
Idris said the university, as an institution with autonomy, is empowered to take action against the lecturer or lecturers responsible for producing the slides.
The Titas module is mandatory for all tertiary students, regardless of religion, since 2013.
– BERNAMA