QUESTIONS have been raised following Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) board chairman Syed Razlan Syed Putra Jamalullail’s sacking, just as he was investigating allegations of misconduct among the varsity’s top management.
Syed Razlan’s termination letter, dated July 17, was signed by Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik. No reason was given for cutting his tenure short, and he got a month’s notice to vacate his post.
He was appointed UPM board chairman last October for a three-year period.
He will be replaced by former Universiti Malaya vice-chancellor Ghauth Jasmon, effective August 19. Ghauth’s appointment letter was signed by Maszlee, also on July 17.
Syed Razlan confirmed receiving the termination letter, but vowed to complete his task before leaving.
“I am determined to finish what I started for the sake of UPM’s future,” he told The Malaysian Insight.
He said he hopes Maszlee’s decision to terminate his contract was not due to the internal probe or reforms at the varsity.
“Although the minister has the power to end the contract, it would have been polite if he had discussed this with me first, before issuing the letter.
“People will now think that I might have done something wrong because they do not know the essence of the letter I received.”
Syed Razlan, however, did not elaborate on the investigation’s findings, only saying he “was just following orders from the Higher Education Department based on a report I received in April”.
Maszlee’s office has yet to respond to The Malaysian Insight on the matter.
Last year, as part of efforts to bring reforms to public colleges and universities, Maszlee had sacked the board chairmen of several varsities, including UPM.
The others were Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Universiti Tun Hussein Onn, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin and Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Maszlee, defending the move, had said the terminations were made as the chairmen were appointed by the former Barisan Nasional administration. He also wanted to ensure the reform process under Pakatan Harapan was not interrupted.
The Joint Councils of Presidents and Honorary Secretaries of the Malaysian Universities Staff Union had criticised the ministry’s decision, calling it “hasty” and saying the move raised concerns among the staff of the public varsities involved, as well as affected daily operations and their welfare. – August 3, 2019.
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Comments
Posted 6 years ago by James Wong · Reply
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Posted 6 years ago by Chee yee ng · Reply
Mazlee is scary giving such a lame reason for termination. He could have just said the man is not performing. Mazlee can't even seem to do things right.
Posted 6 years ago by Tanahair Ku · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by Julian Nagelsmann · Reply
Posted 6 years ago by Lipdah Lia · Reply