Mahathir warns students to stay out of politics

Mahathir warns students to stay out of politics

KUALA LUMPUR (Agencies): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad
warned Malaysian students on Sunday to keep politics out of
campuses, two days after a university hall where he had been
scheduled to speak was burned down.

"Apparently, we no longer use universities to gain wisdom, but
to train ourselves in other fields, such as burning buildings,"
Mahathir told more than 1,000 students at the premier Malayan
University.

Some government officials suspect the university's grand hall
was set ablaze early Friday by unidentified campus staff or
students who wanted to prevent Mahathir's speech.

Police have questioned several students of the university
following Friday's fire, but said there had been no arrests.

No-one was injured in the blaze, which forced organizers to
shift the event to another building. There is speculation it was
intentionally lit, and police said they are still investigating.

Fire destroyed a building at another university near Kuala
Lumpur on Saturday, said Bernama. Police had yet to determine the
cause and it was not clear if the two incidents were related.

Friday's fire has rekindled debate about frustrations faced by
undergraduates in this Southeast Asian country, where draconian
laws prohibit political debate on campus and bar students from
joining political groups.

Over the years, many students have been expelled for taking
part in demonstrations or distributing anti-government material.
Authorities say pamphlets calling for protests started
circulating in Malaysia's oldest university just before the fire.

Mahathir said he was not deterred by the blaze and delivered a
nearly two-hour speech in a cramped auditorium beside the gutted
building, which would have accommodated at least 4,000 students.

The Malaysian leader received standing ovations both before
and after the speech, during which he advised students -- in an
apparent reference to Indonesia -- to put peace and stability
over political change.

"In our neighboring country, students believed it was their
responsibility to hold demonstrations all the time," he said.
"Today, they find themselves unemployed, because their country
has become poor."

Mahathir, who has led Malaysia for nearly 20 years, urged
undergraduates to focus on their studies, avoid demonstrations
and leave the task of managing the country to the government.

"It's easy to hold a protest," he said. "Even idiots can do
that."

Mahathir arrived at the university under heavy police guard
and was greeted by hundreds of students chanting "Long Live
Mahathir!" Officials earlier warned that anti-government
demonstrators would be punished.

Anuar Zaini, the university's vice chancellor, said Sunday
that officials would take legal action against whoever started
the fire, which caused about 12.5 million ringgit ($3.3 million)
in damages.

The fire has upset nearly 6,000 students who were supposed to
hold their graduation ceremony at the hall next month. Thousands
of graduation robes were destroyed, and officials have postponed
the ceremony.

Support for Mahathir has fallen since the firing and
imprisonment of his popular former deputy, Anwar Ibrahim, in
1998. The sacking triggered Malaysia's biggest street protests in
decades.

Anwar was convicted of corruption and sodomy and sentenced to
a total of 15 years in prison. His supporters accuse Mahathir of
framing Anwar to prevent a political challenge. The government
denies it.