KUALA LUMPUR – A Universiti Malaya (UM) professor allegedly implicated in a sexual harassment case has filed a police report against a student said to have posted the lecturer’s nude photos around campus as a warning to other students.
UM Feminist Club (UMFC) president Chin Jes Weng told a press conference today that the police report by the professor from UM’s Mathematical Sciences Institute also accused the student group of defamation.
“The student received nude photos from the professor and decided to disclose them publicly by putting them up around campus after the university did not respond to multiple reports from several students.
“After UMFC exposed the incident, the professor filed a police report against the student (who shared the explicit photos) and claimed that UMFC had defamed him,” Chin said.
She also asserted that the incident is not the first of its kind in UM, the nation’s top university, as the higher education institute had allegedly forbade two male international students from Japan and Taiwan from filing police reports after they were repeatedly sexually harassed by another male international student.
“In 2020, a male lecturer sexually harassed multiple female students. The investigation took a year and the lecturer was moted, but he had already retired by then.
“From 2022 to 2023, students frequently complained to the student council about the university’s slow handling of sexual harassment cases,” she added.
Questioning the Higher Education Ministry’s silence on the recent sexting incident, she also criticised student political parties for making election promises to combat sexual harassment, but remaining silent when victims seek support.
“UMFC will continue supporting victims and may escalate the case to the Anti-Sexual Harassment Tribunal. We also encourage other victims to come forward to protect their rights and prevent harassment from spreading on campus,” Chin said.
On December 18, UM said it has launched an internal investigation, headed by its Integrity Unit, to probe allegations against the professor, assuring that it remains ready to provide full cooperation with relevant parties to ensure that this issue is handled accordingly.
The statement came two days after UMFC alleged that the professor in question had shared nude photos with students and engaged in sexual harassment, claiming then that UM had “yet to act” despite previous reports made by students against the professor.
Meanwhile, UMFC today handed over a memorandum to UM’s management calling for the professor’s immediate suspension, stressing that allowing the academician to stay in his position while the university conducts investigations could “intimidate witnesses or affect evidence”.
Besides urging for a fair and thorough investigation into the professor’s alleged actions, the memorandum also said UM must address weaknesses in its anti-sexual harassment policies as it has “failed to protect students and hold offenders accountable”. – December 20, 2024