Public Universities Act to check Daesh influence among students

KUALA LUMPUR: Public universities have taken various measures to prevent students from falling under the influence of Daesh.
University of Malaya vice chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin said one of the measures UM took was to monitor students' social media accounts.
"The university's Student Affairs Division will monitor students' Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts through the Special Extremist Activities and Religious Extremists Monitoring Committee which we have just set up.
"The names of students suspected of involvement in Daesh activities would be submitted to the Bukit Aman Counter Terrorist Division for further action," he told Bernama.
Deputy Insp-general of Police Tan Sri Noor Rashid Ibrahim was recently reported to have mentioned the existence of a small group of Daesh sympathisers among university students.
Mohd Amin said UM also educates its students on the threats posed by Daesh militant activities.
Universiti Utara Malaysia vice chancellor Prof Datuk Seri Dr Mohamed Mustafa Ishak said UUM carries out an information programme on Daesh threats and dangers.
"The programme was started last semester and will be continued for students coming in at the end of this month.
"Although no UUM students have been found to be involved in any militant activities, the programme is still given priority to ensure that our students can differentiate between Daesh and religion," he said.
He said the university would not compromise in its fight against the influence of Daesh on students.
"The police will be notified if any of our students is found to be involved in militant activities," he said.
National Defence University of Malaysia deputy vice chancellor (Student Alumni Affairs) Datuk Prof Dr Mohamed Fadzil Che Din said priority is given to patriotism training at the military university.
"The students are trained everyday to build up patriotism, aside from the national security concept and Daesh threat information programme.
"We also monitor the students and if we find an inclination towards militant activities among them, we will provide counseling and carry out an investigation before referring them to the police," he said.
Mohamed Fadzil said to date, there has been no case of Daesh involvement among the university's students. — Bernama