I noted with some concern a couple of articles published in malaysiakini which hold the view that the Ramasamy affair and my recent problems with Universiti Malaya's management suggest a heightening of racism in Malaysian universities.

I appreciate the efforts made by the authors of these articles to discuss the serious problems that exist in the universities, and I can understand why this perspective has been adopted since Prof P Ramasamy and I are non-Malays.

However, I wish to state categorically that my problem in UM was not race-related, nor do I believe that this was the reason for the termination of Ramasamy's contract. It would be unfortunate if these two controversies are analysed primarily from a perspective of racism, for it would deflect attention from the structural reforms that Malaysian universities require.

Moreover, the recent controversy involving Higher Education Minister Shafie Salleh and UPM's vice-chancellor Mohd Zohadie, indicates that any vocal critic of government policy can be subject to reprimand.

I also know of a number of well-qualified Malay lecturers in UM, many of them among our most dedicated staff, who have not been promoted or given senior academic positions because they have been vocal critics of university management or government policies.

Some of them have left academia, while others remain deeply disillusioned and demoralised after their genuine attempts to foster a more intellectually stimulating environment were not accepted.