Students have been calling out Limkokwing University for putting up an alleged racist poster a few months ago.
The poster in question shows founder Lim Kok Wing claiming to be the “King of Africa”, while being surrounded by Sierra Leone students. The insensitivity of the image has in turn angered numerous people, in light of the ongoing #BlackLivesMatter protests.
Created by Sam Chin, the petition pointed out several issues with the poster:
1. It portrays Lim Kok Wing as a saviour, with “the notion that black people need saving”.
2. The photo has been photoshopped to add more coloured students around him. “This paints a picture of these students lacking individuality perpetuating the notion that all black people are the same. As you can see in the before and after photo, the photo (though I cannot say intentionally) has been causing them to mould into one!”
3. It dehumanises the foreign students in Limkokwing University while profiting off them.
What Twitterverse is saying:
Limkokwing university is funded by a number of African nations. That's why there are many African students in Limkokwing. They have also been funded to open campuses in a few countries but they have all failed due to terrible leadership. When I say toxic environment, I mean TOXIC
— Malaz El 🇵🇸 (@malazdotcom) June 9, 2020
https://twitter.com/heliosdraws/status/1270544784910761985
Could there be anything more self-aggrandising, politically grotesque & tone-deaf from an institution purportedly abt higher education? If we want to bring our higher education sector into global disrepute this is perhaps a good 1st step. Thank you @Limkokwing_MY #ThinkingMatters pic.twitter.com/dhRBqAbBHk
— Sharaad Kuttan (@SharaadKuttan) June 10, 2020
Limkokwing University’s apology:
As at time of writing, its founder’s personal Twitter account is currently private.
Featured image: Newsweek/ Source: Says.
