On 14th April this year, an X user uploaded a video with a brief description saying, “UITM Dengkil students doing a KKK parade (allegedly) & everyone watching in amusement rather than stopping them. Great time for our Malaysia”. The user ended the post by tagging Royal Malaysia Police and Ministry of Higher Education. This has since become viral in Malaysia’s X platform.
The 15 seconds video showcased six students in white Ku Klux Klan pointed-garb walking and holding objects that look like a stick and a cross. With this, netizens flocked the comment section. “The KKK is a crazy extremist and radical gang in the US…. please @PDRMsia
monitor and curb radical culture from spreading in our country”, said a user.
A student of the institution chipped in saying, “Hiii Im from UiTM and I can say a lot of people are condemning them and are trying to voice this out to authorities. Pleasee dont lump us all together. We are trying our best to stop them”.
Few hours after the post became viral, a different user posted screenshots regarding the incident with a caption, “Got this message from a uitm dengkil student, it’s beyond disgusting and very disturbing to read. The perpetrators were alleged of threatening the whistleblower and forcing them to delete photos of the KKK march.”
The University’s Reaction
On April 15, BFM News via X reported that the university defended the students’ action ‘saying it was for a legal studies assignment. The university added that it did not consider the presentation religiously offensive’. According to the thread, UiTM clarified that the students’ presentation on global racial discrimination utilized costumes as a visual aid to enhance understanding of the topic prevalent in various nations. They stated the aim was to provide a comprehensive historical and global perspective.
Then, on April 16 Fajar Baru, a media and news outlet, posted a thread on X entitled “UiTM Whistleblowers Barred from Leaving Campus”. The thread described how University Teknologi MARA (UiTM) management is reportedly and allegedly preventing the whistleblower of the KKK cosplay incident and their associates from leaving the campus
This is according to anonymous sources verified by Fajar Baru and corroborated by trusted student informants. As of now, UiTM has not released any official statement regarding these movement restrictions.
Netizens Reaction
Among all of the quoted posts, one stood out. It is from a law lecturer of the university itself. In the quoted post, he said, “As UiTM Law Lecturer, I get secondhand embarassment from this. From the actions of the students, the lecturers, and the university. How can we let this happen? The assignment is for the subject Global Issues, hence understandable you want to touch on the history of KKK but why do you need to march on campus with the KKK costume? At night? Part of the assignment? And I saw online, the students involved are now threatening those who exposed them. This is totally uncalled for. UiTM as an institution should be more concerned of the dark history of the KKK that these students ‘marched’ on.
He ended the post by offering help to students who are affected by the threats and promised that he would do anything in his power to help them.
A different user channeled her frustration with a tinge of sarcasm towards the incident. “It’s nice that Bumiputra institutions get to decide what is and isn’t religiously offensive to Christians in the lead up to Easter”, she said.
Conclusion
The incident at UiTM Dengkil, beginning with a viral video of students in KKK-like attire, swiftly escalated into a controversy encompassing student actions, university justification, alleged intimidation, and public outcry. Ultimately, this episode has ignited a debate on cultural sensitivity, academic freedom, and the responsibility of educational institutions in addressing potentially offensive displays.
Image—yapxiang via X
