The government, through the Higher Education Ministry (HEM), is investigating allegations of racism levelled against Limkokwing University.
The Higher Education Minister, Datuk Noraini Ahmad said the probe is being conducted despite the university issuing an apology for the Billboard depicting its founder, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, as the “King of Africa.”
The HEM has asked Limkokwing University to explain themselves in order to determine if there is validity to the allegations against them.
“The ministry is still continuing its investigation to ensure the good name and image of the country is preserved,” she said in a parliamentary written reply yesterday.
This comes as Dr Ong Kian Ming from DAP Bangi asked if the Ministry would investigate the allegations of systemic racism levelled against the Malaysian university.
Dr Ong was worried about the toll this will have on the reputation of Malaysia’s higher education sector.
“Section 89 (1) of the Private Higher Educational Institutions Act 1996 (Act 555) clearly states that the membership of a private higher educational institution shall be opened to all persons irrespective of sex, race, religion, nationality or class.
Petitions have demanded removal of the billboard, which featured a digital illustration of Lim standing with a cheetah, next to a large group of students in Sierra Leone.
The petition and voices on platforms such as Facebook and Twitter stated that the depiction of the cheetah and the reference to the “king” further perpetuated the idea of Africa being one big homogenous jungle, with its people dehumanized and made subservient to the founder of Lim Kok Wing.
Limkokwing University responded to posts maintaining that they have removed the billboard and regretted any “misunderstandings.”
However, the Billboard controversy resulted in a corresponding rise in former university employees making accusations of racism against the institution.
Former employee, Malaz Elnaiem made a claim on her Twitter account that she was previously excluded from a photo-shoot for diversity.
Her tweets were also accompanied by screenshots of conversations in a WhatsApp group allegedly belonging to the university’s staff.
The University has yet to respond to the fresh allegations.
