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Let’s talk instead: USM urges dialogue amid protests over Kedah Tua conference | Scoop
Pekida representative Ahmad Yakqub speaking at a small demonstration outside of the the entrances of Universiti Sains Malaysia, where he calls for the university to scrap an international conference on the Kedah Tua history. - Scoop pic/R Dineskumar. - April 11, 2025
News

Let’s talk instead: USM urges dialogue amid protests over Kedah Tua conference

University invites Malay NGOs to engage, not demonstrate, amid claims of sidelining Islamic history

Main Author Image
R. Dineskumar
Updated
5:36 PM MYT

 

GEORGE TOWN – Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), the co-organiser of an upcoming international conference on the history of Kedah Tua, has reaffirmed its openness to differing views and invited Malay Non-governmental organisations to participate in the event, following growing calls from these groups for the conference to be cancelled.

Earlier today, Pertubuhan Kebajikan dan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Pekida), along with several other Malay NGOs, urged USM to cancel the International Conference on Kedah Tua: Bujang Valley in a Regional Context, claiming the event downplays the Islamic history of Kedah Tua and the Bujang Valley from the 2nd to 14th century.

They also criticised what they saw as a lack of local scholars and an over-reliance on foreign experts in the conference lineup.

During a small demonstration outside one of the campus entrances, the NGOs voiced their opposition to what they described as attempts to frame Kedah Tua’s history through “Hindu-Buddha narratives” that “denied early roles of Islam in Kedah”.

One protestor, Ahmad Yakqub from Pekida, said the group and other NGOs intend to lodge police reports regarding the event this Sunday.

Ahmad also proposed that an open academic debate be held on the topic, one that includes local historians with expertise in Kedah Tua.

In response, USM’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Industry Network and Community), Professor Azlan Amran, said the university welcomes dialogue and urged the groups to engage directly rather than protest.

“They don’t have to go to the extent of demonstrating as they can reach us (campus management) and discuss with us. We are really to discuss this with them,” he said at a press conference on campus.

“In fact, we have fulfilled some of their demands by increasing the number of Muslim and Malaysian panellists. We also have experts from USM participating as panellists (in the conference).”

The “International Conference on Kedah Tua: Bujang Valley in a Regional Context”, which is at the centre of controversy which involved Malay groups that called for it to be scrapped at it allegedly ignores early Islamic history of Kedah Tua. – April 11, 2025

Also present was Professor Datuk Narimah Samat, the university’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and International), who is acting on behalf of the Vice-Chancellor currently abroad.

She confirmed that USM received a letter from Pekida dated March 27, in which the group expressed concerns that the conference “appears to ignore the history” and leans too heavily on “orientalist sources” that allegedly interpret Malay history from a colonialist perspective.

The letter proposed greater involvement of local historians and called for a re-evaluation of the event to avoid fuelling misunderstanding among Malays.

“USM held discussion on this matter, where we raised it with the National Heritage Department and we have sent an invitation letter for Professor Datuk Mokhtar Saidin, who is a historian that is an expert on Kedah Tua as one of the panellists (for the conference).

“USM cares about the concerns (raised) and we have taken note of them to be discussed internally in order to resolve the matter,” Narimah said.

She also stressed that the conference is an academic platform for scholars to present and debate research findings related to Kedah Tua.

The event is spearheaded by the National Heritage Department under the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, and the Ministry of Higher Education. USM is co-organising the conference with Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI).

Among the featured speakers is Associate Professor Nasha Rodziadi Khaw, a senior lecturer at USM’s Global Archaeological Research Centre, who led a mission last June that uncovered a life-sized Buddha statue in Kedah—believed to predate Cambodia’s Angkor Wat.

The conference will also include experts from universities in Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia, India and China. It is being held in conjunction with Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean this year. – April 11, 2025

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