Higher education ministry to work with UTM to resolve Titas slides issue

KUALA LUMPUR:The Higher Education Ministry is to work with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to resolve the issue over lecture material said to be derogatory to the Hindu and Sikh communities.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh (pi said UTM vice-chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Wahid Omar would take all the required steps and action as necessary.
"The UTM vice-chancellor has gotten in touch with me and is looking into the issue. He has given his assurance to get to the bottom of it and take all required corrective steps," he told Bernama when contacted today.
UTM's Tamadun Islam dan Tamadun Asia (Titas) subject slides caused an uproar among the Hindu and Sikh communities after they went viral on social media recently.
The slides claimed that Islam had introduced civility to the lives of Hindus and that they considered the dirt on the body as part of their religious practice to achieve nirvana.
The Titas module was made mandatory for all tertiary students regardless of religion in 2013.
Yesterday, Dr Wahid issued an apology over the slide material and said the slides were not approved by the ministry.
He gave the assurance that UTM would only use Titas slides endorsed by the Higher Education Ministry and experts on Asian Civilisation would be engaged to provide input when needed to prevent a recurrence.
Several Indian leaders, among them MIC president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam and Deputy Education Minister Datuk P. Kamalanathan, as well as NGOs also reacted in the matter. — Bernama