Transfer not voluntary, Albukhary university gave us ultimatum, says student

The Albukhary International University has been operating in Alor Star, Kedah, since 1996. - April 21, 2014.The pending closure of Malaysian tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Albukhary's full-scholarship university in Kedah has taken on another twist with a student refuting the university's claim that the transfer of students to other institutions was on a "voluntary" basis.

He said the Albukhary International University (AIU) had not given students much choice in the matter.

If they failed to inform AIU of which institution they wanted to be transferred to, they would be regarded as uninterested in continuing with their studies and would lose their scholarships from the Albukhary Foundation, the student, who declined to be named, said.

"We have also been told that this current semester ends on June 6. But students were told last Friday that they can drop all their courses already.

"Classes are off... whether the university is closing for remodelling or not, shouldn't students be allowed to continue with their courses until the semester ends?

"It is as if this entire semester so far had been a waste of time. When we go to another university, we will have to retake certain courses," he told The Malaysian Insider.

AIU in Alor Star, Kedah, is on the verge of closing down. The university had said in a statement last week that there were plans to remodel the institution.

Acting vice-chancellor Professor Nor Adnan Yahaya had also acknowledged the lawsuit filed by six students at the Alor Star High Court against AIU on April 15.

The students had filed a suit against the institution for failing to give a written notice of closure as required by the Private Institutions of Higher Learning Act.

The plaintiffs are Mohd Raimy Fahmy Mohd Radzi, 22; Muhamad Hanif Ahmad Fauzi, 21; Hanif Hafifi Mahali, 21; Mohamad Hanif Kamaruddin, 21; Muhammad Syafiq Abd Shamad, 21, and Farhan Sani Safiyuddin, 20, who are seeking various declaratory reliefs and injunctions against the university, challenging the validity of the closure of academic operations at the university, and seeking an order to compel the university to continue with its operations.

Adnan had also said that the processes had already been initiated for the transfer of the students, which he had said was voluntary and done with the interest and welfare of the students at heart.

A statement by AIU interim chief executive officer Datuk Dr Thomas Ong on February 4 to students regarding the closure was also made available to The Malaysian Insider recently by university sources.

Ong had told the students that the closure was "inevitable" but it would "reopen again in due time" when the vision and mission of the founder had been thoroughly considered and executed by the appointed management.

He had also said that this, however, was not a promise to the students that they would be able to return to AIU to complete their studies.

The same goes for employees of the university and their jobs, he had said.

"At the moment, I don’t have the time of the expected re-opening," Ong had said, but he had assured the students that they would not be neglected or short-changed during the transition.

He had also advised the students not to be demoralised and expressed disappointment "that some parties had tried to ignite the fire around the campus by means of instigation".

"This sadly, should not be the way and if it persists, may I make it clear that it will be no more than a losing battle with unfavourable ramifications.

"There is a very thin line between being practical and being oblivious to reality. One of it is failing to realise that there exists a world outside our minds with equal degrees of truth in it," he said.

Meanwhile, when contacted yesterday about their lawsuit against the university, Raimy Fahmy said the mention for their case had been postponed to May 4.

"The case that was fixed for mention was postponed because AIU has yet to appoint a lawyer," he said.

AIU – a fully-residential campus with comprehensive facilities on an 18ha site near Alor Star –  was set up in 2010 as a "waqf" (eternally charitable) institution funded by Syed Mokhtar's Albukhary Foundation.

The international university has students from over 50 countries, with some 75% of them foreigners. Every AIU student is a scholarship holder of the foundation.