English fail: Malaysian uni mocked for organising ‘Pedophile Charity Run’

01 Dec 2017

A prominent Malaysian university became the subject of ridicule last weekend when one of its faculties made a cringe-worthy mistake in the use of the English language.

Universiti Teknologi Mara’s Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies reportedly organised the “Pedophile Charity Run” last weekend, which was widely mocked by netizens on social media, Free Malaysia Today reported.

The run, which was supposedly held at the university’s campus in Seremban on Nov 25, was aimed at creating awareness about sex crimes against children. Unfortunately, the name of the run had created an air of confusion as it suggested support for child predators.

After the poster made its rounds on Twitter, commentators did not hold back their sharp criticisms against the institution.

https://twitter.com/ranes1985/status/936029708717715456

Some netizens said the organiser of the run should have checked the “Pedophile Charity Run” phrase with the university’s English department, while others pointed out that this reflected the country’s falling standard in the command of English.

Reacting to the barrage of criticisms, the faculty later apologised for the mistake, saying they made amendments to the poster and asked netizens to stop spreading the embarrassing poster online.

The university also clarified that the event did not include child predators as participants and was not held to celebrate them. Instead, the run was organised to educate the students on the issue.

The country’s leaders and educationists have long raised alarm bells about an apparent decline in the standard of English in the former British colony, claiming this was the reason why many graduates were not employable.

Recently, a minister earned brickbats for calling the same university a place for “slow learners”, but later apologised for making the remark.

What? UiTM's ‘Pedophile Charity Run’? #badEnglish Can't blame Tengku Adnan for shaming this university. #standards #Malaysia https://t.co/ndGUTg5WrL

— Chrisanne Chin (@ChrisanneChin) November 30, 2017