EDUCATION Minister Maszlee Malik has come under fire for taking up an additional post as the new president of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).

Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin asked if he was interested to protect the interests of IIUM only.

“Why is the minister showing his favour to one university only? And has he got so much free time to take care of the university?” the former Johor menteri besar tweeted.

The tweet was re-tweeted by former Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin.

Maszlee’s appointment was also questioned by his fellow Pakatan Harapan colleagues.

Kg Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei said Maszlee must relinquish his post as the new president of IIUM.

She said Maszlee’s helming the private university was a “clear conflict of interest”.

“As an academic, Maszlee holds the right credentials for the post (but) as the highest-ranked politician in the Education Ministry, holding the highest position in a university is a clear conflict of interest.

“Whether the president role is executive or non-executive is immaterial. We should not be breaking our manifesto by using loopholes,” she said in a statement today.

Yesterday, IIUM’s Academic Staff Association congratulated Maszlee on his appointment as the university president on its official Facebook page. The minister was part of the Islamic knowledge faculty at IIUM before entering politics.

At the same time, Maszlee’s political secretary Mohd Nizam Morad was also appointed to the board of directors of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).

DAP’s Lim said these appointments cast doubt on the Education Ministry’s commitment towards academic freedom.

Maszlee’s appointment was against PH’s manifesto, which promised the restoration of authority and independence of public universities and institutions of higher learning.

And she reminded Maszlee of his own interview dated June 7, in which he had said he would “make sure that the PH government will never misuse universities for political interest… this includes me.”

He added that PH would not control and dictate universities, nor force them to do anything.

“We really want the universities to enjoy their autonomy and cultivate academic freedom in their territory,” he told the New Straits Times.

Hence, it is highly inappropriate for Maszlee be appointed to be IIUM’s president, said Lim.

She added that the minister would be failing students who had counted on the new government to restore academic independence if he does not relinquish the recent appointment.

“To fail to do so would be a slap on the face to the student activists (previously) blacklisted, harassed or detained under the UUCA (Universities and University Colleges Act).

“And to fail to do so would signal to our youth that PH has no integrity. In that case, we can no longer blame our youth for swearing off politics for good.”

The Malaysian Insight is contacting Maszlee for comment.– September 5, 2018.