The case of IIUM’s presidency
the latter tolerated many politically-linked personalities, including retired politicians.
Some are real heavy weights known to “politicise” the university in no uncertain terms.
I remember one who admitted that he was appointed to “clean up” (memutihkan) the university of “opposition” politics! Hence, the culture of collegiality flew out the window as the rule of fear descended on the campus.
In other words, the entire issue on the choice of a president or a chairman is a red herring. The nett effect could be the same in the long run as amply demonstrated during the past 30 years.
In fact, I would rather risk working with a “politician” who is on record to be staunchly academic in his/her beliefs, understanding and practices relating to issues of academic freedom, and a slew of autonomies – ranging from organisational to financial as well as recruitment – because all of these are essentially tied up in one ecosystem. One cannot proceed without the other. There is no such thing as “staggered” autonomy based on “performance” as being promoted today.
Figuratively, if a university is likened to a vehicle where accuracy and speed are key to deliver impact, then lending “autonomy” only to one part, say the steering wheel and not the gearbox, will not change anything.
Such are the intricacies that must be understood in the world of academe if things are to go full throttle.
Failing to appreciate this fundamental is to “fail” the university, which is the crux of the current issue. Not just confined to the presidency or chairmanship, especially when the person concerned is clueless.
I recall one higher eduction KSU who compared “autonomy” with a camel getting into a tent. And he reckoned it takes five years for the beast to do so!
This weird idea came from a seemingly apolitical professional (if civil servants then can qualify as one) – without the slightest hint of what “autonomy” entails. So what is the fuss all about? Storm in a teacup?
Lest we forget all this started during the days when corporatising the university was considered the in-thing. Blindly emulating the corporate sector, the then university council was sacrificed to accommodate a board of directors (as it is now) instead. Explicit to this idea was to place the university under a tighter grip of the government, through the ministry of education. So it is no surprise that the alleged political appointees became convenient pawns to ensure that the political agenda took precedence over academic ones.
The “human capital” (economic) agenda coming out of The Human Capital Theory is one, at the expense of the Falsafah Pendidikan Kebangsaan that speaks a different language of a balanced, harmonic and “sejahtera” human being (insan seimbang, harmonis lagi sejahtera dirinya). In other words, the issue at hand is just symptomatic of a larger “invasion” into the university system that now acts as a defunct idea of the corporate version. Whereas in the case of the latter the CEO has autonomy to call the shots, not so for the former.
In contrast, the university council that was hijacked in the name of corporatisation was inherently autonomous. The chairman is elected by the council, and he/she could even be a politician from the opposition party. This is the case for the University of Malaya where Dr Tan Chee Khoon (an opposition leader) was elected as chairman (think of the recent PAC chairman) after serving the council for the longest time from 1950s. And he left a significant mark on the development of the oldest university in the country.
In hindsight, we have got it right and we have proven it to the world. But then change our stance for political expediency. And that is where the problem lies distracted by the current hoo-ha that is more of a symptom of deeper interference that must be stopped once and for all as the new government has given its assurance.
Indeed, we have been barking at the wrong tree yet a again. Turning a mountain out of a molehill without really discerning what the root of the problem is.
The writer is the rector of IIUM and chairman of USIM. He also served as the 5th USM vice-chancellor (2000-2011).