By Nur Najmi JamalÂ
GOMBAK, 14 May 2015: The President of Staff Association, Dr. Maszlee Malik has expressed regret over the recent cancellation of “The Great Debate: Everything in Moderation” that was supposed to have brought the British High Commissioner to Malaysia and the official from the University of Nottingham to attend the event at the University.
He said this debate was scheduled to be held on 29 April 2015 but was cancelled a few hours before the start of the event. He regarded the action as “not reflecting the Islamic principles preached by Muslims.”
The event was later rescheduled to 11 May 2015 and was held at Mini Auditorium, Malaysia Tourism Centre (MATIC) in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur.
This debate was the second in series of the Great Debate that invited five prominent panelists consisting of Senator and Minister in the Prime Ministers Department, Datuk Paul Low Seng Kuan, Selangor State Executive Councillor for Education, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, lawyer and Bar Council member, Firdaus Husni, and an experienced law lecturer, Prof Datuk Dr. Shad Saleem Faruqi, writer and lecturer, Niki Cheong and the International Institute of Wasatiyyah, International Islamic University Malaysia.
The purpose of the debate was to instil moderation in the rapidly changing world, characterised by conflict, increasing extremism and differences of perspectives since we were at risk of being less moderate and intolerant.***