This paper explores barriers to realising the social purposes of higher education within a context of dominant hierarchical socio-cultural norms. Those norms are examined to reveal how they hinder students and teachers from engaging with critical thought and social justice issues in Malaysian higher education. The impact of these norms is examined from the perspective of students. Interviews with students found that such norms manifested themselves as barriers through (a) teacher authority, and (b) 'sensitive' content, which prevented students from expressing critical, dissenting views, and from having open discussions in the classroom. Additionally, fear resulted in self-censorship and the withholding of personal opinions on controversial topics. Socio-cultural norms that perpetuate an unequal balance of power need to be subverted if higher education aims to play a role in achieving greater social justice. Limits on freedom of speech and critical thought must be reduced so students feel safe when engaging with provocative ideas.