I was left surprised and confused after reading the Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka’s statement defending its Vice Chancellor Dr Massila Kamalrudin over the remarks she made at a university programme gathering that was reported by the media.
According to the media report, she allegedly told the students to keep their romantic liaisons with academic staff private – “if you want to flirt, even with the dean, do it outside (of the campus)”.
I find her remarks troubling as it is against the professionalism ethics in a public university and UTEM’s decision to defend Masilla was even more surprising by stating the remarks were taken out of context.
UTEM as a respected university in the country should have asked its staff to apologize and admit the mistake she made as it would have been easier for the public to accept rather than trying to prolong the issue by ‘explaining’ the remarks.
Defending Massila’s remarks, indirectly indicates that the university was not serious in maintaining professionalism at a higher education institution and could tarnish the university’s image even more.
The lack of seriousness may discourage students from enrolling at the university, as professionalism is not being prioritised by the university management. Now, I urge Masilla to apologise for her remarks as a sincere admission of her mistake. I believe as a human being nobody would escape from making mistakes, thus an apology would be sufficient to end the conflict.
An apology does not necessarily mean all of her contributions to the university and the country will be forgotten, instead, it would present a credible leadership from her and become an example to many youths out there that admission of a mistake is not a sign of weakness but instead signalling her courage as a leader.
At the same time, UTEM should also issue an apology for defending Massila’s remarks. As a respected higher education, it should have taken a moral high ground by acknowledging the mistake and addressing the public with a promise that another episode of such an event would not happen in the future.
Khoo Poay Tiong
Ahli Parlimen Kota Melaka
