YOURSAY | ‘If they weren’t put there on merit, then their removal is no big loss.’

Maszlee suspects certain vice-chancellors leaking info to former boss

Vijay47: In itself, the fact that some vice-chancellors may have revealed what transpired during the meeting with Education Minister Maszlee Malik is not illegal, unless the proceedings were classified under the Official Secrets Act 1972, like a certain beggarly letter to the CIA seemingly was.

Maszlee cannot expect political subservience from his ministry’s officers. However, he can demand the best and total devotion to duty from those under his wing, and if they are unable to provide this, they can either resign or be dismissed.

Our institutions of higher learning have long been cauldrons of service to political masters for which they were duly rewarded. The quality of education or the fate of future generations were hardly of concern to them; in fact, the universities were often seen and treated as extensions of Umno.

The shackling of the past must stop. Lecturers, professors, and others should be free to support any political party, yet not at the cost of attending to their professional responsibilities.

Vice-chancellors should be appointed on the basis of experience and expertise in the field of education – not on race, religion, or political affiliation.

It is a national shame that 60 years after independence, not a single public university has a non-Malay vice-chancellor. I am sure that Maszlee is looking into this also.

Anonymous Malaysia 2018: Maszlee, just do your job as you see fit. You will be damned if you do and damned if you don’t.

So you might as well get rid of the loyalists to the old regime. The old thinking must go.

Jeez: The education system is very important for the future of the nation since it moulds our young. You can’t carry out reforms without removing these saboteurs and political appointees.

You are doing it right – start the cleansing from the very top of the various education institutions. The dogs can bark until they are hoarse, just ignore the noise and do the right thing.

Hang Babeuf: Maszlee should not be so precious and sensitive. Of course, people will talk. He must be prepared to speak his mind and set his terms to the vice-chancellors – and to be ready to discuss and defend his words and actions publicly.

Otherwise, with his preference for excessive secrecy, he will end up in the same corner as ‘Mother Hasanah’ of the Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation (MIEO).

Dizzer: Pakatan Harapan should operate in the spirit of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation process.

After a regime change – if that really is what the 14th general election was – you cannot discard the old personnel or dismantle the old structures overnight. That way chaos lies – just ask the Iraqis.

Malaysia has had monoethnic rule since at least 1971, and retribution for the most egregious malefactors (we know who they are) is required – but this rampaging desire to throw the baby out with the bathwater is causing confusion and is counterproductive anyway.

Vice-chancellors, senior civil servants and GLC (government-linked company) heads are all on fixed-term contracts, so the sensible approach is to weed out the useless or compromised by not renewing their contracts.

The Malaysian education ecosystem is incredibly sensitive, and Maszlee needs rational, knowledgeable advisers to help him navigate the treacherous waters.

Newday: Yes, you just can’t make all these ‘traitors’ go away at once. You do lose a level of expertise with mass resignations.

Short-term chaos will ensue, unless Harapan has some good vigorous people waiting to sink their teeth into education reform. Don’t let that ‘chaos’ to last too long.

Clever Voter: There must be hundreds of prima donnas in the system. Many got there by virtue of their closeness to Umno, it wouldn’t be a surprise if they hold membership cards too.

This is a tough job, and removing them would mean not giving them face.

Perhaps to transfer is a better option. We are not even talking about vice-chancellors alone, there are thousands of others, including those who teach.

Brig Gen Khairy Bridget Jones Diary: Everyone seems to think there will be chaos or at least uncertainty if some fat cats are removed from the top of certain entities.

But if those entities were underperforming anyway, and those who lead them are not there on merit and are severely unqualified for their positions: how big a loss would their removal be?

It is not just ministers who eat, sleep and breathe Umno. The upper echelons of the civil service are staffed – stuffed? – by similar fat cats, only a little slimmer around the waistline.

The poor battered souls who keep the country running in spite of BN’s decades of mismanagement are the dedicated civil servants below them. They are not in danger of losing their jobs, so nothing will change.

Maszlee must realise that the only reason why the opposition seems to be targeting him is because they can smell hesitation and weakness. He should take a leaf from the book of his party’s ‘Great Leader’: execute first, ask questions later.

Roger 5201: As we said during the previous administration, keep politicians out of our schools. If a vice-chancellor wants to play politics, he or she must be prepared for its consequences.

Odysseus: For those who campaigned for BN, they have to step down and just be regular lecturers. A vice-chancellorship is a leadership position, which helps mould the next generation.

If these vice-chancellors think their job is to help retain BN as the ruling party, then this position is no longer suitable for them. Just ship them out.

Gerard Lourdesamy: Indeed, just sack them, Maszlee. Enough with these traitors to the nation. They are not academics but Umno-BN lackeys with zero integrity, let alone objectivity and impartiality.

These people could not achieve anything on their own without patronage. Most of them are not even clean. Check to see what interests they have through proxies and nominees in companies that were awarded contracts by their institutions.

Some, of course, wanted worthless titles and recognition. Others sit on the boards of various government bodies, agencies and some GLCs. It was these people who have destroyed our public education system. Why show them mercy?

Love Malaysia 2: What the education minister did was correct. He needed to make sure the vice-chancellors would implement the government’s new reforms. That is patently not the same as asking for their loyalty to the government, as was the case with BN.

Anonymous_5a309591: Those who do not publish papers, do not encourage critical thinking, and encourage subtle racialism do not belong in a university.

Look at how the National University of Singapore has lifted itself to be among the top 50 universities in the world. Set the pace and the tone, Maszlee. These so-called ‘kangkung’ professors should be made to earn their salaries.

BTN: The rakyat has to be very patient with Harapan as the Umno mould has been festering for decades. There are those who owe everything to Umno and want to make Harapan look bad.

I remember when Pakatan Rakyat first took over Selangor. For a while, rubbish went uncollected to make the new state government look bad.

But the Selangor government was firm and resolute in its direction, and the sabotage attempt passed.

Aninimum: To former higher education minister Idris Jusoh - to suggest that someone might want to resign if they cannot do their job properly is not a “threat.” That is how things work.

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