Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin says Universiti Malaya should have allowed Professor Datuk Dr Redzuan Othman to continue until retirement. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, July 10, 2014.
Universiti Malaya's (UM) actions in terminating the services of its Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMcedel) director is inconsistent with its previous practices, said the National Council of Professors.
The council's deputy president Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said UM should not have sacked UMcedel's Professor Datuk Dr Redzuan Othman but should have allowed him to continue with his work until his retirement next year.
Shamsul Amri, who is the founding director of the Institute of Ethnic Studies (Kita) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), said Redzuan should have been treated with respect and allowed to continue with his duties at UMcedel.
Redzuan's case was not a question of academic freedom but more about the inconsistencies shown by UM's leadership in handling political issues, he said.
"It was fine the last time, but now it is not. Why?" Shamsul Amri asked.
He was commenting on the termination of Redzuan's services as UMcedel director on March 31, although the latter's contract would only expire on December 31.
Redzuan's tenure as Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences was also not renewed on July 1, even though he was said to have received the highest votes from the academic staff to continue heading the faculty.
Shamsul Amri drew on his past experiences on how UM had dealt with controversial personalities – the university had allowed them the space to operate.
He said when he was pursuing his Masters in Arts (1973 to 1976) at the Literature and Social Science Faculty in UM, he was supervised by Profesor Syed Husin Ali who was detained under the Internal Security Act for six years (1974 to 1980).
After Syed Husin was freed, he came back to UM as the head of Anthropology and Sociology Department, a post which he held until he retired, Shamsul Amri said.
At that time, Shamsul Amri said, it was common knowledge that Syed Husin was a member of the Parti Sosialis Rakyat Malaysia (PSRM).
"So was Prof Redzuan way 'bigger' and more of a 'threat' than Prof Syed Husin to UM that they decided to terminate his services even before he retired?" he asked.
The Malaysian Insider had previously reported that Putrajaya had pressured UM to sack Redzuan following UMcedel's various survey findings on Malaysian politics which had shown the ruling Barisan Nasional in a bad light.
Former UM vice-chancellor Tan Sri Professor Dr Ghauth Jasmon also revealed that he was constantly harassed by Putrajaya over the unflattering findings by the university’s research centre towards the government but had defended UMcedel to protect the sanctity of the educational institution.
Former deputy education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah had also made similar claims, confirming that Redzuan was ordered to resign as UMcedel director "because of orders from certain quarters in the Education Ministry".
He said that if academic freedom should be discussed, it should also include deliberations on the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA) as amendments to it were only on students' involvement in politics.
"The law on (the involvement of) academics in politics was not amended or changed. In fact, it was not even mentioned," he added.
- TMI
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