Zan Azlee
Published: May 11, 2026 10:36 AM
Updated: 12:43 PM
COMMENT | I want to pick up on the recent discussion on our local professors by well-known podcaster Khairy Jamaluddin.
He mentioned on his podcast that our country has cowardly professors who are not willing to speak out to counter the misinformation that is spread around.
In the context of the podcast, Khairy was saying this in criticism of our local history professors who don’t seem to want to voice out and engage against those who are obviously confused or are inaccurate on the kinds of historical information they are spreading.
He criticised professors who are at public universities for having their salaries paid for by taxpayers’ money but do nothing to defend the country’s history.
Khairy, who also hosts another podcast called “Sejarah Kita” (our history), said that he finds it very hard to get professors who are willing to come and talk about history.
Published: May 11, 2026 10:36 AM
Updated: 12:43 PM
COMMENT | I want to pick up on the recent discussion on our local professors by well-known podcaster Khairy Jamaluddin.
He mentioned on his podcast that our country has cowardly professors who are not willing to speak out to counter the misinformation that is spread around.
In the context of the podcast, Khairy was saying this in criticism of our local history professors who don’t seem to want to voice out and engage against those who are obviously confused or are inaccurate on the kinds of historical information they are spreading.
He criticised professors who are at public universities for having their salaries paid for by taxpayers’ money but do nothing to defend the country’s history.
Khairy, who also hosts another podcast called “Sejarah Kita” (our history), said that he finds it very hard to get professors who are willing to come and talk about history.
Khairy Jamaluddin
I want to echo his sentiment, as this is also something that I have written about in the past.
Some of the issues that I have observed are the fact that there are so many professors in many of our universities, yet we rarely see any research of worth that is revealed to the public.
I’m sure there are, but it would be few and far between.
Why is this so? There is a term known as “kangkung professors” that was coined years ago, which refers to professors who try to manipulate facts to skew information a certain way.
I tend to use this term to refer to ineffective professors who contribute nothing to society despite writing and conducting numerous research papers.
Over 8k professors nationwide
According to the latest data that I can find, in 2023, the total count of professors in Malaysia is 8,574, spread across public and private universities.
Break it down further and it is 2,446 professors and 6,128 associate professors. That’s quite a number. Not bad for a small country with a population of around 30 million people.
So, why then can’t we ever have enough research or even public discourse that is of quality and worthy enough to be considered a contribution to the nation?
I want to echo his sentiment, as this is also something that I have written about in the past.
Some of the issues that I have observed are the fact that there are so many professors in many of our universities, yet we rarely see any research of worth that is revealed to the public.
I’m sure there are, but it would be few and far between.
Why is this so? There is a term known as “kangkung professors” that was coined years ago, which refers to professors who try to manipulate facts to skew information a certain way.
I tend to use this term to refer to ineffective professors who contribute nothing to society despite writing and conducting numerous research papers.
Over 8k professors nationwide
According to the latest data that I can find, in 2023, the total count of professors in Malaysia is 8,574, spread across public and private universities.
Break it down further and it is 2,446 professors and 6,128 associate professors. That’s quite a number. Not bad for a small country with a population of around 30 million people.
So, why then can’t we ever have enough research or even public discourse that is of quality and worthy enough to be considered a contribution to the nation?
They are all producing research and papers for sure. But how many of these are actually, as I mentioned, worth anything?
I wonder why that is so? Is Khairy right in saying that many professors are cowards? If so, what are they afraid of?
Are they afraid that what they say can become controversial or are sensitive? Are they afraid that they will be criticised or even lose their jobs? If so, then why did they go into academics in the first place?
Looking beyond academics
Academics are supposed to be the intellectuals who lead the thinking of a nation and society. They are supposed to lead public discourse, share ideas, and bring progress and development.
They are supposed to be brave to create, innovate, and inspire. They are even supposed to defend justice and fairness for the people.
Sure, they need to be brave, but losing their rice bowl is also a big concern. There is a history of academics who have lost their jobs, all allegedly for statements they have made that are not too popular.
In 2011, law professor Aziz Bari was suspended by the International Islamic University Malaysia, and he eventually left the place.
Aziz Bari
In 2014, Redzuan Othman had to leave his position as the director of University Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections, allegedly because of unfavourable research results.
UM law lecturer Azmi Sharom was charged with sedition for comments he made about the then-Selangor menteri besar crisis.
If professors are afraid that they can lose their jobs just by doing their jobs, then what is the point of having professors?
Tenureship
So, what should be done? Maybe having tenureship, such as in countries like Canada, Germany, the United States, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, could be the answer.
What this means is that when an academic is given a tenureship by a university, they can never be suspended or sacked from their job.
It is meant to protect their freedom to be an academic, thinker and researcher. It means that they can do what they’re supposed to do for the betterment of society without fear.
In 2014, Redzuan Othman had to leave his position as the director of University Malaya’s Centre for Democracy and Elections, allegedly because of unfavourable research results.
UM law lecturer Azmi Sharom was charged with sedition for comments he made about the then-Selangor menteri besar crisis.
If professors are afraid that they can lose their jobs just by doing their jobs, then what is the point of having professors?
Tenureship
So, what should be done? Maybe having tenureship, such as in countries like Canada, Germany, the United States, Denmark, and the United Kingdom, could be the answer.
What this means is that when an academic is given a tenureship by a university, they can never be suspended or sacked from their job.
It is meant to protect their freedom to be an academic, thinker and researcher. It means that they can do what they’re supposed to do for the betterment of society without fear.
Of course, not all academics are granted tenureship. The process to obtain tenureship is difficult. One must be considered an excellent academic or professor and would be highly scrutinised, with peer reviews, superiors’ evaluations and whatnot in order to achieve it. This is to ensure that only the worthy will get it.
I am a big proponent of academic freedom (and freedom of speech and expression, of course), and having a tenureship system for our academics would ensure that.
It would also show that the position of an academic is something that is highly respected and one that has great responsibility too. So how about it?
ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary filmmaker, journalist and academic. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.
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One professor talks cock on areas even outside her expertise yet is cherished, wakakaka
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