Thank you for the story on the press statement issused by Association of Universiti Malaya Academic Staff (PKAUM) last Thursday. However, there seems to be a misinterpretation as to the purpose of the statement.

The purpose of the statement is not to sensationalise the issues nor to show them as being major problems at the University of Malaya. The purpose of the statement is to highlight the struggles of PKAUM for the coming year, i.e. to improve the academic standing of the university, to improve the remuneration and benefits for its staff and to improve the quality of its graduates.

In order to move forward with these struggles, PKAUM demands periodic dialogue with the university management. The dialogue (Departmental Joint Council meetings) which is required to be held at least once in three months has not been held since February 2003.