EDUCATION Minister Dr Maszlee Malik should turn down his appointment as president of the board of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) to show that the new Pakatan Harapan government is committed to transparency and good governance, said the National Patriots Association (Patriot).

Although the post did not come with executive powers, Maszlee’s appointment “could lead to unhealthy politicking” and cast aspersion on his integrity and that of the new government, said Patriot public communications director Capt Dr Wong Ang Peng.

Wong said with the new PH government setting itself a high bar for integrity and accountability, the people also have high expectations of good governance.

“Good values, ethics and governance must not only be implemented, but must also be seen to be implemented,” Wong told The Malaysian Insight.

“In view of all these, it will be good if Maszlee Malik respectfully declines the appointment of president in IIU.”

Despite Maszlee’s reputation as a “very principled and learned person”, there could be questions on whether or not he would use his position to either favour the university over others, Wong said.

“Other universities may not perceive him to be neutral due to the competitive nature of universities like asking for grants and other academic matters.”

Maszlee, who was an academic before he joined Bersatu and contested in the 14th general election, was a former student and later a lecturer at IIUM.

He is reportedly the third education minister to assume the post at the university since it was founded more than 30 years ago.

Before him, Rais Yatim, Anwar Ibrahim and Najib Razak held the post when Barisan Nasional was in government. The third prime minister, the late Hussein Onn, was the founding president.

BN leaders slammed Maszlee’s appointment.

Khaled Nordin, who was former higher education minister, asked why the new minister was “showing his favour to one university”.

“And has he got so much free time to take care of the university?” the Umno vice-president tweeted yesterday.

Some of Maszlee’s Pakatan Harapan colleagues have also expressed concern over his appointment, with DAP’s Kg Tunku assemblyman Lim Yi Wei saying the minister must relinquish his post as the new president of IIUM as it was a “clear conflict of interest”.

Lim said his appointment also ran in contrast to statements Maszlee had made in June, when he pledged to accord greater autonomy to local public and private universities to “cultivate academic freedom in their territory”. – September 5, 2018.