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.