{
  "id": 2738707,
  "title": "IIUM ends lecturer Solehah Yaacob’s service",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/iium-ends-lecturer-solehah-yaacobs-service",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-23T06:11:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2026/08/23/iium-ends-lecturer-solehah-yaacob-s-service"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) has announced it has terminated the employment of lecturer Solehah Yaacob, effective April 27. The university clarified that Yaacob, an Arabic language professor, is no longer a professor at IIUM. As per the university's statement, she is prohibited from using any title or position connected to the institution or claiming any affiliation with it. This restriction extends to promotional materials, media reports, advertisements, social media posts, and any other form of public dissemination of information.\n\nYaacob had previously gained attention due to her controversial views, particularly regarding Malay history and civilization. A video of her claim that Romans learned shipbuilding from Malays circulated last year, prompting Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir to advise university lecturers to refrain from making assertions beyond their areas of expertise. More recently, Yaacob proposed a theory suggesting that the high concentration of iron ore in ancient Kedah might have been the result of meteor showers in antiquity.",
  "summary": "The academic had attracted public attention over several controversial views, including those concerning Malay history and civilisation.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "UIAM tamat khidmat Solehah Yaacob",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/uiam-tamat-khidmat-solehah-yaacob",
        "published": "2026-08-23T05:38:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Solehah Yaacob no longer with IIUM after Roman-Malay shipbuilding claim",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/23/solehah-yaacob-no-longer-with-iium-after-roman-malay-shipbuilding",
        "published": "2026-08-23T07:13:17.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}