Students give Maszlee seven days to resign as IIUM president

Students activists have given Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik seven days to resign as president of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

The deadline was given following a closed-door meeting between Maszlee and the students at a restaurant on Jalan Pantai Baharu in Kuala Lumpur this evening.

They had demanded that the minister resign from the post immediately, which Maszlee refused to do.

Asheeq Ali Sethi Alivi, who led the group of 10 students, expressed his disappointment with the outcome of two-hour meeting.

"The meeting ended with us giving him seven days (beginning today) to resign immediately, or we will gather and mobilise more people to rally against him," he said in a press conference after the meeting.

Asheeq said the education minister came out with "fluffy" reasons to remain IIUM president, such as "making changes from within."

The students were adamant that public universities should be free of political appointments.

'All my children'

In a separate press conference later, Maszlee reiterated that he was appointed IIUM president by Pahang ruler Sultan Ahmad Shah, as advised by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"I did not appoint myself. If I appointed myself, I would have resigned long ago. It's not my decision, as I was appointed by my superiors," he said.

The education minister likened himself to a father figure to the student activists, and said he would continue giving them the freedom to voice out their concerns.

"They are all my children. As a father figure, I need to listen to their grouses. We keep our promise to be open and to give them a chance to speak up, and we gave them the freedom to hold a dialogue," he said. 

Maszlee also said he is committed to make IIUM "the Oxford of Muslim countries."

"Today, IIUM is ready for a change and to move forward. Their slogan is 'Bring Back the Glory of IIUM' and I want to help them achieve that.

"I need to carry out the responsibility and live up to trust put in me," he said adding that he will cooperate with Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) countries to catapult the university into glory. 

After the meeting, the student activists chanted "Undur Maszlee" ('Step down Maszlee') several times as the minister headed towards his car.

Before leaving the venue, however, Maszlee stopped in his tracks and turned back to entertain the group as they chanted – even offering Asheeq a bottle of water as the activist led the chanting.  -Mkini