Universiti of Malaya apologises after US professor Bruce Gilley accuses Malaysia of advocating ‘second Holocaust’ during lecture

The Universiti of Malaya issued a public apology on Thursday for hosting US academician Bruce Gilley who accused Malaysia of advocating a “second Holocaust” against Jews during a lecture at its institution.

“Action will be taken against those found to be involved with this issue.

“UM also takes this matter seriously and apologises to all parties.

“UM has taken note of the recommendation by the higher education minister by cancelling all scheduled programmes and activities involving the foreign guest speaker,” it said in a statement on Thursday.

The school also said it would prepare a full report on the controversy surrounding the talk and enhance procedures and implement stricter guidelines, particularly for background checks on individuals or parties it collaborated with to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.

Meanwhile, amid the escalating row, Gilley announced on X (formerly Twitter) that he was leaving Malaysia.

Gilley said he had safely departed from the country and was one step ahead of the “mob” whipped up by the government and would issue updates later.

On Tuesday, the political science professor from Portland State University reportedly downplayed Malaysia’s ties with the United States and was criticised on social media after he purportedly claimed that Malaysia had pushed for a “second Holocaust against the Jewish people” during a talk in UM.

In his talk titled “Will Malaysia Become an Active Middle Power” at the university, he was quoted as saying: “A country whose political leaders advocate a second Holocaust against the Jewish people will never be a serious player in world affairs, and will certainly never be a friend or partner of the US.”

Explaining the matter on X, Gilley said he had removed the