By Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi

The Zakir Naik Exam Universiti Malaysia Perlis question issue is similar to the TITAS UTM issue in 2015. The public are rightly to be concerned but may not know the principle of teaching subjects at a university. And in both cases, the ministry of education should never be blamed nor the lecturer concerned. I will explain.

Firstly, all universities have been given complete autonomy to manage and teach their courses because the universities are supposed to have all the experts in the fields which degrees are awarded.

The universities are controlled by MQA requirements and also some professional bodies in the relevant courses like medicine, architecture and engineering. Other than that, the universities are free to do their own things. Subjects such as Ethnic Studies and TITAS fall directly under the faculty. The faculties in each universities are almost standalone institutions of knowledge and are wholly responsible for its content except in one instance which I will describe later.

The public must now come to be aware of two types of teaching courses. One type is a basic core subject taught mostly by junior academics and another type is an advanced level subject taught by a Professor. Now, subjects such as Ethnic Studies and the TITAS are taught to thousands of students every semester as modules upon modules. There are many lecturers teaching the same module. The exam questions for thousands are the same mostly and vetted through a system comprising of other academics and approved at the faculty level.

Thus, if there are suspiciously strange questions or Powerpoint slides in the exam and teaching, the faculty bears the responsibility. However, in the case of the professor teaching a subject, the professor is given a wide leeway to instruct because of his or her experience and knowledge breadth. The professor can say something controversial because he or she is the specialist in that area. Thus, if I were to say that having domes and minarets are not part of the Islamic moral construct by my analysis of rituals, religious texts, architectural technology and social and political contexts of history, I am the sole person to carry the responsibility of that knowledge. In this case the faculty can stand apart from the professor as all professors are like single-person universities in their own right.

Thus, in the Zakir Naik issue, it is completely wrong to blame the ministry of education. The faculty is to take the blame, not the lecturer.

In the TITAS incident at UTM, the lecturer was sacked but the faculty escaped and I thought that was not proper.

Modules like Ethnic Studies are usually taught by junior academics and they should not be too severely reprimanded as this was a common course taught by many other teachers. The senior members of the team and the Head of Department must take the fall and apologise and just change the module exam papers as well as the Powerpoint slides in the TITAS case. No one should be sacked as this is a learning curve.

What should have happened in the future are the following suggestions.

Firstly, all lecturers of the subject of Ethnic Study should have undergone a course in unity and harmony by a reputable institution. These lecturers must be made to visit mosques, temples, gurdwaras and have WhatsApp mentors in all religions to discuss and ask questions. These lecturers are the nation's frontline soldiers to combat against bigotry and extremism, and care must be made as to their education.

Secondly, it is compulsory for these lecturers to attend forums and seminars to the tune of four a year to participate in issues of harmony like the Jawi issue and the like.

Thirdly, each class should have guest speakers from different faiths and race as well as NGOs working for harmony. These speakers will usually speak for free as they are all individuals of strong commitment.

Finally, the university MUST ensure that there is a team of multiracial academics in the faculty that is significant and not just one or two ‘others’.

Only in this way can we move forward to heal our nation from the storm of extremism that seems to be brewing in the coming decade.

(Professor Dr. Mohd Tajuddin Mohd Rasdi is Professor at a local university.)