KUALA LUMPUR, May 14 ― PKR MP Rafizi Ramli today told the rector of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa to resign for stifling students’ freedom of thought and expression, after the Pandan lawmaker was expelled from the campus yesterday during a discussion on the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The PKR vice-president added that UIA’s Datuk Seri Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin demonstrated her bias by allowing former Umno Youth exco member Lokman Adam to speak at the student-organised forum but not the opposition leader.

“UIA’s rector’s gives the impression as if UIA does not celebrate knowledge generated by differing opinions. In fact, UIA’s rector’s decision of only allowing the Umno representative to speak shows how she has politicised her standing for the benefit of Umno,

“If UIA’s rector does not understand this basic necessity, it’s only fair that she resign from being UIA’s rector and take up a position in Umno appropriate with her inclination,” he said in a statement today.

He added that this was not the first time Zaleha cancelled programmes at the last minute when those from the opposition were scheduled to speak.

“Before this, UIA courted controversy when it cancelled UIA programmes including those involving ministers, foreign ambassadors and Selangor state assemblymen,” he said.

Rafizi explained that he had been invited to speak at a GST forum by the UIA Students Representative Council but upon starting his speech, the university’s head of security Superintendent Razali Mohamad snatched his microphone and demanded that the lawmaker leave.

He added that a brief scuffle ensued when Razali as well as several Special Branch officers tried to escort him off the campus as several students attempted to separate the officers from Rafizi.

A video of the incident was also captured and shared on social media.

Separately, PKR Youth Chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad also condemned the manner in which UIA removed Rafizi, after having experienced a similar occurrence when a forum at he was scheduled to speak at university was cancelled allegedly because he was an opposition leader.

“UIA as a higher education institution should be more open and should encourage the exchange of knowledge among students but lately, the ‘Islamic’ and ‘international’ university seems more closed, not appropriate with its name,” he said in a statement today.