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University of Malaya’s refusal to grant two years’ unpaid leave to Dr. Sharmani Patricia Gabriel to join her husband, Dr. Terence Gomez on his United Nations research appointment in Geneva with their three children smacks of being petty and vindictive, reckless of the interests of the university and Malaysia’s international reputation and global competitiveness Media Statement (3) by Lim Kit Siang(Parliament, Thursday): I am shocked that instead of finding an amicable and satisfactory resolution over the Terence Gomez secondment controversy, University of Malaya has upped the ante in its refusal to grant two years’ unpaid leave to Dr. Sharmani Patricia Gabriel to join her husband, Dr. Terence Gomez on his United Nations research appointment in Geneva with their three children. The latest University of Malaya administrative action smacks of being petty and vindictive, reckless of the interests of the university and Malaysia’s international reputation and global competitiveness. It is sad that the University of Malaya administration headed by its Vice Chancellor has decided on “cutting off the nose to spite the face” instead of adopting a win-win formula in resolving the Terence Gomez controversy, which is the latest example of the root cause of the decline in academic morale, culture, standard and quality in the Malaysian public universities. A parliamentary roundtable will be convened in Parliament (Committee Room 2) beginning at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Friday, 27th May 2005), inviting parliamentarians, distinguished Malaysian academics and former academicians, NGO and trade union representatives, as well as political leaders to a dialogue on “Higher Education in Crisis?”, touching not only on the Terence Gomez controversy but the larger question of how to restore Malaysia’s reputation for academic excellence and quality and be ranked among leading world-class universities. It has been reported that the Minister for Higher Education, Datuk Dr. Shafie Mohd Salleh is in the process of appointing the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) to fill the vacancy following the death Prof. Datuk Dr. Ahmad Fawzi Mohd. Basri. Shafie should seriously consider emulating the examples in Thailand and the Philippines where the appointment process for an university Chancellor/Vice chancellor is more open, transparent and consultative, with the academic staff invited to submit nominations as part of the appointment process. (26/05/2005)
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