Higher Education Minister Dr Shafie Mohd Salleh should reinstate axed Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) political science lecturer Prof P Ramasamy, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang today.

"He should take immediate steps to reinstate Ramasamy as proof that Malaysia is serious about education reforms," he added in a statement.

According to Lim, there is an 'unending and deteriorating' crisis in higher education here.

"The latest scandal was the arbitrary and discriminatory termination of Ramasamy's two-year contract to silence an endangered species in the country - an outstanding public intellectual," he said.

Ramasamy, who had been with the university for more than two decades, was recently given a one-month notice of his termination, effective Aug 27.

The academic later claimed that he was being victimised for criticising the government and its policies.

However, UKM has dismissed this charge, saying it decided on the termination after looking into the academic and performance aspects.

Education revolution

Meanwhile, Lim in his statement also recalled the controversy involving Universiti Malaya (UM) economics lecturer Dr Edmund Terence Gomez.

The university had turned down his application for a two-year secondment in order to take up an United Nations appointment in Geneva.

A dejected Gomez quit in protest and the ensuing row saw the intervention of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who approved his leave application and revoked his resignation.

To further illustrate the malaise in the local academia, Lim also cited the case of Universiri Putra Malaysia (UPM) vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohamad Zohadie Bardaie.

He said there were attempts to remove Mohamad Zohadie after he objected the minister's 'arbitrary' decision to transfer the university's aerospace engineering programme to Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

"Malaysia needs a higher education minister who can spearhead an education revolution to meet new global challenges instead of one who has no inkling of the worsening higher education crisis crippling in the country," he added.