KUALA LUMPUR, April 25 — The Higher Education Ministry has today ordered the University of Malaya (UM) to cancel any programmes and activities scheduled to be attended by American professor Bruce Gilley who is controversial for backing a return of colonialism.
Minister Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir also told UM to investigate the matter, after the pro-Israel Gilley yesterday accused Putrajaya of advocating for a “second Holocaust” against the Jews.
“I would like to remind every agency and institution under the ministry to be sensitive, careful and to conduct a thorough background check before inviting any individual or party to the organised events and programmes,” he said in a statement here.
Despite local institutions of higher learning are given autonomy to organise intellectual programmes, Zambry stressed that this does not mean that they are independent institutions that should ignore the sensitivities of the community and the majority of Malaysians.
“Every decision taken needs to take into account the sensitivities and be in line with the government's policy and stance," he said.
Gilley, a professor of political science at Portland State University, was invited by the Department of International and Strategic Studies for three events, starting from a seminar on international relations on Monday.
On Tuesday, Gilley delivered a keynote address titled “Will Malaysia Become an Active Middle Power” and yesterday in an X post about the speech said “a country whose political leaders advocate a second Holocaust against the Jewish people will never be a serious player in world affairs, and will certainly never be a friend or partner of the US”.
Gilley pointed to the remarks of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Agriculture Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
He has since deleted the post, claiming it was for the safety and well-being of UM staff who invited him.
Gilley is known to be a supporter of Israel, displaying the state's flag on his X account.
He is also a controversial figure among the Western academia for praising Western colonialism and saying it should be “reclaimed”, considered “legitimate”, and even “resurrected”.
In 2017, his article The Case for Colonialism was published in the Third World Quarterly journal and provoked massive controversy resulting in two petitions signed by thousands of academics calling for the editor responsible to be sacked, while 15 of the journal's 34-member editorial board resigned in protest.
Among others, he suggested that governments in developing countries replicate “colonial governance of their pasts” — citing Singapore as a successful example.
On his X account earlier this week, Gilley had also mocked an exhibit of the British colonial and the Malayan resistance in the National Museum here.
In October last year, he wrote an article titled The Academic Roots of Hamas's Terror, blaming the American academia for furthering support for Hamas.
Gilley's appearance in UM was panned by local activists, with Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) acting president Amira Aisya Abd Aziz saying he falsely depicted Malaysia’s aim and goals towards peace for an independent Palestine state.
“We have never advocated for a second Holocaust. In fact, it is the Zionist government of Israel that is currently committing genocide at this very moment,” she wrote on X, adding that academic institutions should be very careful in inviting speakers and lecturers who are spreading pro-Zionist narratives.
