I refer to the report UM: Gomez's wife did not submit formal leave application which quoted UM officials as saying University Malaysia lecturer Edmund Terrence Gomez's wife had not applied for no-pay leave officially but merely requested for it via e-mail.

Are they saying that if she had applied officially - I presume via a leave application form - she would have been allowed to go on leave?

It is therefore irrelevant whether the request or application was made via e-mail or an official leave form. If she was to be denied either way then why the need for an official leave form?

It is quite alarming that such foolish answers could be given by officials of the nation's highest education center. The statement sounds like a 'civil servant' answer. UM, like many other government bodies, are riddled with bureaucracy.

Gomez represents the many who have left Malaysian shores after being unjustly treated. I wonder if it was a Professor Wong instead of a Professor Gomez that was involved, would the case have been handled differently?