In a strange twist, several disgruntled public university employees and a student, claim they were being persecuted simply for being pro-government.

Associate Professor Abdul Hamid Yeop Zainuddin from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) said he and a number of lecturers had been dealt the raw end of the stick, specifically because of their efforts to expose mismanagement, misuse of power, and corruption in the university.

"I believe they are hitting back at us because we have reported these abuses to the Ministry of Higher Education, the Anti-Corruption Agency, and the police," he told a press conference at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) office in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Abdul Hamid, who taught in the university's Mathematics Department, claims he realised after obtaining his pay-slip on Oct 19 that the bonus was not calculated into his salary for the month.

This was despite the government's announcement of a one-month bonus to be distributed to all public sector employees payable over the months of October and November, 2005, said Abdul Hamid.

"I have been branded as a hard-core supporter of the government," he said, alleging that this was an anathema to many figures in the university.

"All the posters displayed of pro-government student groups in UTM, it's all for show," he added.

Abdul Hamid was accompanied to Suhakam by UTM education lecturer Shahrin Hashim (left), who claims to have been similarly mistreated by university authorities.

Friends

Shahrin said he had been issued a show-cause letter demanding an explanation for his association with Abdul Hamid.

"In my case, it was only because I had shown some sympathy to Abdul Hamid for his case. I don't know anything about the other issues (UTM may have with him), but they did this to me simply because of my friendship with Abdul Hamid," said Shahrin.

In a Tuesday report in Malay daily Utusan Malaysia, UTM spokesperson Sabri Ahmad denied that the university was discriminating against its staff in its distribution of the annual bonus.

"An officer is only qualified to receive the annual bonus and performance-based payments if the disciplinary committee has not found any wrongdoing (on his part)," he said.

Abdul Hamid, however, dismissed the university's claims and asserted that he had never been forewarned or issued a notice in relation to the university's plans to withhold the bonus, as normally practiced.

"It was only after I got to know that I did not get the bonus, and had made a fuss about it, that I was issued such a letter," said Abdul Hamid, who questioned the breach of procedures.

Deviationist teachings

Such action was also taken against certain employees of the university for their opposition to alleged cover ups of fatal accidents, rapes and deviationist religious activities, said Abdul Hamid.

Also present at the press conference was former chemical engineering student at UTM Wan Noor Hayati Wan Alias (photo top) who claims to have been expelled from the university on account of her opposition to deviationist religious activities on campus.

"In 2000 I had decided to leave the group of which I was a member because I realised that what they were doing was wrong," said Wan Noor Hayati.

"I can prove, with transcripts and registration records, that my grades were high. But the university authorities expelled me on the pretext of having low grades. It was merely an excuse because they were against my leaving the group and exposing their activities," she added.

Suhakam commissioner Hamdan Adnan vowed to look seriously into all the allegations raised.