PETALING JAYA: Higher education minister Zambry Abdul Kadir has denied that hedonism has become a culture in higher education institutions because of concerts held on campuses.
Responding to a question from Zulkifli Ismail (PN-Jasin) in the Dewan Rakyat, Zambry said hedonism referred to a lifestyle which prioritised the pursuit of pleasure or comfort.
“The ministry strongly denies that such a culture has become a lifestyle among students due to concerts being held at higher education institutions.
“The ministry understands the need to hold arts and cultural programmes at universities, as long as they do not exceed (moral) limits or violate any regulation or law,” he said in his written reply.
Zulkifli had asked what the ministry was doing to overcome the “culture of hedonism in public and private higher education institutions”, which he claimed was spread through concerts held on campuses, among others.
Zambry reiterated that the organising of arts and cultural activities, including concerts, at universities was subject to guidelines that do not breach societal and religious norms.
“In August 2023, guidelines for concerts at universities were issued by the ministry as a reference for the institutions to develop their own respective guidelines.
“The ministry has also required all universities that want to organise concerts on campus to inform the ministry first,” he said, adding that this was to prevent untoward incidents from occurring.
