Press statement by Gerakan Vice President cum Chairman, Central Bureau of Publicity and New Media Dr. Dominic Lau Hoe Chai Gerakan Vice President, Dr. Dominic Lau Hoe Chai expressed disappointment that Profesor Dato Dr. Mohammad Redzuan Othman has been asked to resign from his position as Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Elections (Umcedel) Director, allegedly for publishing various survey findings on Malaysian politics which had shown the ruling Barisan Nasional in a bad light. The incident has also prompted former deputy higher education minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah to resign as a senior research fellow from Universiti Malaya (UM) in an apparent protest over the forced dismissal the Umcedel Director, Lau lamented the way events unfolded and called for rectification. Lau regretted that the unfortunate incident took place despite the fact that in January 2012, the government has given autonomous status to UM along with 4 other local public universities to manage their own academic, administrative and financial matters. He opined that academic freedom is of paramount importance to the mission of academy and the principles of academia. Umcedel as an academic research centre attached to UM must be ensured of its academic freedom to publish legitimate academic research and findings as well as to communicate ideas or facts with the public without being targeted for repression or job loss by the authorities. “As a former lecturer, I must stress with concern that academic freedom is a fundamental necessity for the production and publication of true knowledge to the society. The government must show commitment towards upholding academic freedom. The academic independence of universities and affiliated institutions must be respected as it is important to improve the educational standards and rankings of our nation,” said Lau. Finally, Lau urged UM to reconsider its decision not to renew Professor Redzuan’s tenure as the Director of UMCedel and dean of the Arts and Social Science Faculty. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 刘华才：维护学术自由‧“马大应重新考虑决定” （吉隆坡30日讯）民政党副主席刘华才呼吁马大，重新考虑不续聘马大民主及选举研究中心（Umcedel）总监拿督莫哈末礼端教授的决定。 他发文告指出，学术自由对於学术的宗旨和原则是非常重要的，马大民主及选举研究中心作为马大附属的学术研究中心，必须確保给予他们发表合法的学术研究及成果的自由，在没有当局抑制和失去工作风险的同时，与公眾交流理念和事实。 他强调，学术自由对於知识的求知和向社会发表真实性是必要的，政府必须致力於维持学术自由，大学的学术独立性和其附属机构必须受到尊重，这对於改善我国的教育水准和排名至关重要。 news.sinchew.my/node/373989
Posted on: Tue, 01 Jul 2014 06:27:39 +0000
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