Dr Gayathry Venkiteswaran and Dr Ahmad Fuad Rahmad, both Assistant Professors at University of Nottingham Malaysia’s School of Media, Languages and Cultures were invited to be guest speakers on Astro Awani’s Consider This programme on Wednesday, 8th July 2020.
The programme was hosted by Melissa Idris and Sharaad Kuttan and the topic of discussion was Migrant Doco: Anxieties, Real or Manufactured? This topic was chosen for discussion in the wake of the controversy over the Al Jazeera story on migrants that was aired earlier in the week.
Human Rights Watch, an international NGO, raised concerns that Malaysian authorities have been responding to criticism by carrying out criminal investigations on journalists, activitsts and ordinary citizens. The boundary of what can be said without the threat of reprisal is slowly narrowing. Dr Gayathry addressed this as well as discussed if legal protection for journalists existed here in Malaysia.
Dr Ahmad meanwhile, discussed the dramatic shift in Malaysian politics, the unfolding of the public health crisis and the economic downturn that was threatening the livelihood of millions. He went on to discuss if this has resulted in a general anxiety among the people and if it was driving many of the controversies on the public realm.
CEO and Provost of UNM, Professor Graham Kendall said: "We are delighted that our academics have been selected to discuss these timely matters. It shows that UNM is always on the ball and on top of pertinent issues that affect our society."
To watch the full discussion, please visit this link.
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For media enquiries please contact: Josephine Dionisappu, PR and Communications Manager University of Nottingham Malaysia at josephine.dionisappu@nottingham.edu.my
Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham is a research-intensive university with a proud heritage, consistently ranked among the world's top 100. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our 44,000 students - Nottingham was named both Sports and International University of the Year in the 2019 Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide, was awarded gold in the TEF 2017 and features in the top 20 of all three major UK rankings. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement. We are ranked eighth for research power in the UK according to REF 2014. We have six beacons of research excellence helping to transform lives and change the world; we are also a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally.
Posted on 28th August 2020