by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Thursday, February 23, 1995:
Allegation by Malaysian Academic Movement that Education Minister had not kept his promises to the university lecturers most shocking and should be rectified immediately
The allegation by the Malaysian Academic Movement President, Wan Abdul Manan Wan Muda, in yesterday’s press that the Education Minister, Datuk Amar Dr. Sulaiman Daud had not kept his promises to the university lecturers is most shocking and should be rectified immediately.
Wan Abdul Manan said Dr. Sulaiman did not make good his promises to the academic and administrative staff associations of the various universities in 1992 that he would meet their representatives before meeting the vice-chancellors. This promise was not kept.
Furthermore, the Education Minister had also promised to submit a memorandum from the academic and administrative staff on the New Remuneration Scheme to the Public Services
Department, but he did not do so, as he only submitted a memorandum from the vice-chancellors to the PSD.
This is the second time in two weeks that there has been major complaints against the Education Minister. The first was by the 230,000 teachers against the government apathy and indifference to their service conditions, leading to a 3,000-strong teachers’ protest rally on February 11 – the second to be held by teachers in 27 years.
Both these incidents are most disturbing as the Education Minister seems to be cut off from the educationists in the country, whether teachers in the primary and secondary schools or the lecturers in the local universities, as if he is becoming very inaccessible and unreachable.
Dr. Sulaiman Daud should take the initiative to have a frank and meaningful dialogue with all the university lecturers in the country to understand their problems and grievances and discuss how the local universities could become centres of academic excellence not only in the country, but also in the international academic world.