PETALING JAYA: A scholar and a former MP have criticised Universiti Teknologi Mara’s (UiTM) defence of a group of students who wore Ku Klux Klan (KKK) costumes as part of an assignment.
Sharifah Munirah Alatas, a former assistant professor, said proper academic discussions on racism should have been held instead of staging what she described as a “silly Halloween parade in terribly bad taste”.
“Do it the proper way; have an academic forum about it. This visual has been embarrassing, to say the least,” she said in a Facebook post today.
She also noted the dangers of such imagery in the age of social media, especially when taken out of context.
“Did the lecturer responsible not know this?” she said, adding that the clips would “definitely give the wrong impression”, both in the country as well as worldwide.
Media clips of the students dressed in white robes and pointed hoods reminiscent of the KKK had sparked outrage and drawn widespread criticism online.
The KKK originated in the US in the 19th century and is best known for promoting racism, white nationalism, and extreme right-wing ideologies, often through violence and intimidation, particularly against African Americans, as well as Jews, immigrants and other minority groups.
UiTM had defended the students, saying such acts should be assessed within “an academic framework”.
However, Sharifah questioned the extent to which visuals of the sort would help anyone “‘assess’ anything whatsoever”.
“If UiTM wants to project any sense of ‘awakening’ of an academic nature, then please do the academic and serious pedagogical thing.”
Former Batu Kawan MP Kasthuri Patto voiced similar concerns, warning that the university’s handling of the issue risked glorifying the KKK’s brutal legacy.
Kasthuri also questioned whether students were encouraged to consider the perspectives of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King Jr and Rosa Parks when exploring the history of racism.
“Yes, while we have to know the whats and the whys of what they did and what governed that school of thought, it must be balanced by the human stories of the strength, valour and fortitude of defenders of human rights and social justice.
“As a university ranked 587th in the QS World University Rankings 2025 with over 180,000 students, UiTM must step up and do better,” she said.
