New vice chancellors for UPM, UPSI to be announced soon - MOHE

Meanwhile, it said candidates for the post at Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP), Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) were still being interviewed by the Public University Vice-chancellor Selection Committee.

"The public university VC appointment process will be conducted in detail and the search for candidates will be done in an open manner through advertisements made by the universities themselves. The ministry upholds the principles of transparency and integrity in matters pertaining to the appointment of VCs," read the statement.

Yesterday, the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS) urged MOHE to expedite the appointment of VCs at five public universities in which the posts have been left vacant since early this year.

The ministry said it viewed the matter seriously, and the screening and selection processes are conducted in accordance with provisions under the University and University College Act (AUKU) 1971 (Act 30) as well as the existing standard operating procedures.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Society for Research and Higher Education Policy Development (PenDaPaT) president Prof Datuk Dr Norzaini Azman said MOHE should have been more proactive and begun the process of finding the VCs and deputy VCs based on the timeline stipulated in AUKU, which is nine months prior to the end of the VC's tenure, and six months for the deputy VC.

"In a situation where both posts are forced to be ended or the appointment period is shortened, MOHE can use the old list of shortlisted candidates who had been interviewed and request for several new names if required, to make the appointments in an urgent manner without compromising the integrity of the selection process," she said in a statement.