Ministry secretary-general II Prof Datuk Seri Dr Zaini Ujang said Prof Datuk Dr Mohamad Redzuan Othman’s second term as the dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences department had ended.
“Nobody asked him to resign. He has completed his two terms as a dean,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Asked if Dr Mohamad Redzuan’s term could be extended, Dr Zaini said it would not be practical as the professor was already bound to retire early next year.
“The ministry had nothing to do with the resignation. It was just a normal process of completing a term,” he said.
Dr Zaini said the ministry was only involved in the appointment of a university’s vice-chancellor and deputy vice-chancellor.
“The rest, including professors and deans, are not in the ministry’s interest,” he said.
Online news portals had reported that the ministry ordered Dr Mohamad Redzuan, who was the UM Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMCedel) director, to resign from his position.
It was also reported that Dr Mohamad Redzuan’s tenure as the faculty dean was not renewed.
Some reports linked the dismissal to the centre’s previous survey findings on Malaysian politics which did not go down well with the university.
In one of the polls conducted by UMCedel, over 60% of respondents preferred Pakatan Rakyat’s manifesto compared to Barisan’s pledges.
Several UM academicians defended the need for academic freedom following news that Dr Mohamad Redzuan had resigned.
UM academic staff association president Dr Azmi Sharom said if it was true that the ministry ordered for him to quit, then it would be “an affront to academic freedom.”
In support of Dr Mohamad Redzuan, former deputy higher education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah quit as a research fellow at the university.
He made this announcement over his Twitter account, saying that the move was based on the principles of “academic freedom and solidarity”.
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1 comment:
dekan lain pun banyak yang bertukar ganti. bukan di um sahaja malahan di semua universiti awam. memang proses biasa dekan dilantik mengikut tempoh tertentu. apa yang nak hebohnya. orang lain boleh turun jawatan dekan jadi pensyarah biasa pun ada. dekan tu bukan pangkat tapi jawatan. pangkatnya tetap sebagai profesor. memang di mana-mana pun macam itulah kelazimannya. memang pro pembangkang suka buat kepoh. masyarakat umum mungkin tidak berapa faham proses perlantikan dekan, ketua jabatan dan sebagainya. tapi bila bekas timbalan menteri pelajaran sendiri pun tak faham, memang nampak sangat kebangangannya. memang tak layaklah dia jadi felo kat situ pun.
jangan kata dekan, jawatan ketua pengarah agensi mana-mana pun biasanya adalah secara kontrak bertempoh. sahlah pro pembangkang memang cuba ambil kesempatan mengelirukan masyarakat untuk memecah belah. dari sudut lain, jentera penerangan kerajaan perlu lebih peka dan cekap untuk menangkis serangan propaganda sebegini dengan penjelasan yang mudah difahami supaya persepsi masyarakat tidak diherotkan.
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