Academic Freedom in Malaysian Public Universities

Academic freedom is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in academia, but is a fundamental pre-requisite to achieve the purpose of a university in becoming a knowledge and truth-seeking institution in our society. This article specifically examines academic freedom in Malaysian public universities, by first, unpacking the concept of academic freedom as well as the complementary concept of institutional autonomy. Having made clear the definition and concept of academic freedom, the article highlights three major impediments of academic freedom in Malaysian public universities resulting from legislation, lack of institutional autonomy and influence of external agencies. The understanding of these impediments is vital for the future development of public universities to fulfil their purpose as public authorities for knowledge and truth in Malaysia.