Sharifah Munirah Alatas said scholars who allow themselves to be used by politicians are detrimental to the country’s progress.

“Malaysia badly needs more scholars and university leaders who are not playthings of politicians.

“A country whose educators allow themselves to be used for political agendas is a country doomed to the backwaters of civilisation,” she said in a Facebook post.

Munirah was commenting on a speech by former Bank Negara governor Muhammad Ibrahim during the Bumiputera Education Congress on May 1.

Muhammad had referred to a 2024 survey by Merdeka Center which suggested that a substantial majority of Malaysians view education policy as overly politicised.

He also said that education must not be politicised, with decisions on curriculum, language, and standards guided by evidence, pedagogy, and national interest instead of “short-term political considerations”.

In agreeing with Muhammad, Munirah called for the eradication of political appointments to top management positions of public universities, including vice-chancellors who may be academically unsuitable despite their doctorates, incompetent or even corrupt.

There is also a need to remove “restrictive and insulting” laws such as the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 and the Statutory Bodies (Discipline and Surcharge) Act 2000, she said.

“Autonomy and freedom are not flippant concepts. They determine whether we are capable of creating critical thinkers or dull, unimaginative, and insipid robots with cardboard for brains.”

Munirah also criticised the prevalence of “arrogant and ignorant” academics whom she said continued to peddle nonsense nationally and globally, in addition to producing divisive research that insults “the other”.

“This is not what scholarship is supposed to be about. Scholars are meant to improve lives, not destroy them.”