UMcedel issue: No political interference involved, says university

University of Malaya (UM) has lashed out at allegations saying there was no political interference regarding the removal of the dean for its Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

In a statement released yesterday, UM clarified that the tenure of Professor Dr Mohammed Othman Redzuan was not extended following a transparent election process.

"Contrary to news reports, the decision to not extend Redzuan's tenure was based on a democratic and transparent election process which was carried out in accordance with the University of Malaya Constitution 2010.

"The constitution states that the vice-chancellor shall appoint a dean/director from three shortlisted candidates who received the highest scores.

"The elections were held between June 10 and 12 and interviews were held with the three candidates between June 17 and 20," the statement said.

Apart from Redzuan, the other two candidates shortlisted for the post are Prof Dr Md Sidin Ahmad and Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Abu Samah.

Taking into consideration Redzuan’s expected retirement next year, the management decided to appoint a new dean.

"After lengthy deliberations, the management decided to appoint Md Sidin as the new dean for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

“UM stresses that this election exercise is a normal process to decide the dean for the upcoming term after their tenure expires on June 30,” UM said in a statement.

Redzuan’s resignation as director of UM's Centre for Democracy and Elections (UMcedel) had been widely criticised by several Pakatan Rakyat leaders, saying he was pressured to do so by the university and the Education Ministry.

It was reported that Redzuan was dismissed for conducting surveys and polls on Malaysian politicians that had placed the ruling government in a bad light.

His resignation at UMcedel was said to have led to his removal as dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

Later former deputy higher education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah resigned as a senior research fellow at University Malaya, a move being described as a ‘protest’ to Redzuan’s alleged forced dismissal.