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Home > Tamil National Forum > Selected Writings - Professor P Ramasamy > Unjust Termination of contract as Professor
Selected Writings by Prof P.Ramasamy Unjust Termination of Contract as
Professor
5th August 2005 "...Given my extensive writings on the ethnic
conflict in Sri Lanka, I was appointed by the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to its Constitutional Affairs Committee in
2003. We were entrusted with the task of formulating an Interim
Administration Proposal for the North-East of Sri Lanka so that
that the peace process could re-commence..."
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) in
a letter dated 27th July 2005 terminated my contract of employment
as a professor in the Centre for History, Political Science and
Strategic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities with
effect from 26th August 2005. Following my mandatory retirement on
10th May 2005, I was given a month-to-month contract for two years
(10th May 2005 to 9th May 2007) subject to the approval of the
University�s Board, Public Services Department, Department of Higher
Education and the University�s Management (letter dated 31st May
2005). This abrupt and sudden termination of my
contract goes against the practice and the policy of UKM that
provides for a two-year contract for professors who have completed
their Syarahan Perdana (inaugral address). I delivered my Syarahan
Perdana in March 2005, even before my retirement date. For those
professors who have not delivered their Syarahan Perdana, UKM
provides them with one-year extension to complete this requirement.
However, despite this stated policy directive, the University has
never been consistent in the practice of provision of contracts for
senior professors. There have been a number of cases where lecturers
without Ph.D. and good academic track record have been given
two-year contract upon retirement. When I received my
month-to-month contract in late May, I was given the impression that
once the approval comes from the above stated bodies, I would be
given a two-year contract. However, all this has been turned out to
be false and untrue. The letter of termination based on the decision
by the University does not mention whether my application obtained
the approval of the above-stated relevant bodies. Since no reasons
are given for the termination of my contract, I am not sure why UKM
made this decision. Given my academic experience in UKM
for the past 25 years, I strongly suspect criteria other than
academic/intellectual were chosen to terminate my services. In a
more precise sense, I speculate that my public role in writing and
speaking on political and social issues such as the lack of
democratic space, the plight of the Indian community, the
exploitation of labour and more recently my statements on the
controversial role of the Malaysian Medical Council on the Crime
Medical State University could have provided the overall context in
which the decision was taken against me.
In the past, I have received warnings from UKM for
writing and publishing critical pieces on Malaysian politics and the
nature of authoritarian leadership. Beyond this, I further suspect
that my role in the peace process in Sri Lanka and Acheh in recent
years has not been really welcomed by some bureaucratic academicians
in the decision-making circles. Thus, for the last two decades or
so, I cannot claim that I have received the sympathetic
consideration of authorities both in UKM and outside.
However, to date, there have been no complaints by UKM on my
academic/research and intellectual activities. I was hired as
lecturer in the Department of Political Science in 1981, promoted to
associate professor in 1993/4 and full professor in 1998. I have
published four books and numerous articles in both local and
international journals. I have participated in hundreds of
conferences both overseas and in the country.
I have acted as consultant to the International Labour
Organization (ILO), Shell Malaysia, Malaysian Trade Union Council
(MTUC) and some trade unions in the country. My works on Malaysian
labour in general and plantation labour in particular have been
cited by numerous academics both inside and outside Malaysia. I have
the most number of Ph.D. students under my supervision; many of my
doctoral students have registered with UKM to complete their
dissertations under my guidance. About two years ago, I
was appointed by UKM as the coordinator for the Global Labour
University masters programme sponsored by the ILO. Due to my
consultancy with ILO and my liaison with the MTUC, I was able to
convince them to locate the masters� programme in UKM. UKM is the
only university in Asia that was given the privilege and prestige to
host the programme. I have submitted the necessary documents for the
implementation of the programme in the year 2007. However, in my
absence, it would be difficult for UKM to launch the programme or
convince the ILO about the future of this global masters programme.
In the last five years or so, I have taken a keen interest in
internal/nationalistic conflicts in places like Sri Lanka and Acheh,
to name a few.
Given my extensive writings on the ethnic conflict in
Sri Lanka, I was appointed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
(LTTE) to its Constitutional Affairs Committee in 2003. We were
entrusted with the task of formulating an Interim Administration
Proposal for the North-East of Sri Lanka so that that the peace
process could re-commence.
Similarly, I have also taken a keen interest in the
peace process in Acheh. As an observer/advisor in the recent
Helsinki Talks I was able to provide valuable input for Gerakan
Acheh Merdeka (GAM) to move in the direction of a lasting
settlement. According to the latest information, GAM and the
government of Indonesia would be signing the peace agreement on 15th
August 2005 in Helsinki. To date, I have completed a
number of research projects on labour and ethnicity funded by the
Selangor State government (estate workers� housing), Education
Welfare and Research Foundation (political and social aspects of the
Malaysian Indian community), Tokyo University-Nissan Foundation
(plantation workers Riau, Sumatra), ILO (impact of AFTA on trade
unions), Ministry of Rural Development (poverty among former estate
workers) and ILO (impact of globalization on trade unions). Apart
from research, I was awarded fellowships at Centre for Developing
Area Studies, McGill University, Canada, Nordic Institute of Asian
Studies, Copenhagen, Denmark and guest professorship at University
of Kassel, Germany. My abrupt and unjust termination
goes to show that there is big gap between what is preached and
practiced in UKM. The University�s constant emphasis on
academic/research/intellectual excellence has not been borne by
deeds. Given the attrition suffered by the University in terms of
losing good and quality staff over the years, no corrective measures
have been adopted to retain people, especially at the senior level.
Strong governmental control of universities, lack of
autonomy, the bureaucratic and mechanical nature of administration,
intolerance of dissent and climate of fear have contributed in
stifling the intellectual and academic environment. Alternatively,
the prevailing environment in universities seems to sustain fear,
favouritism and cronyism. Academic excellence is judged not by sound
teaching and academic/intellectual output, but how well lecturers
and administrators cultivate personal friendships and ties to seek
promotion and extension of contracts. Promotions and
extensions of employment contracts in UKM as in other public
universities have been mainly determined by the development of
personal relationship, favouritism and active involvement in the
politics of UMNO. There have been cases of professors and lecturers
retained for a lengthy period after their retirement because of the
operation of these factors. While official directives spell out the
conditions for the retention of senior professors after their
retirement, the practice has been rather contradictory and
arbitrary. There have been professors who have continued in the
service of UKM based on short-term contracts for a few years even
without completing their Syarahan Perdana. Of course, if one is not
in the good books of the administration as a result of being
outspoken and critical, then it would be impossible to continue in
the University for long. It is without doubt that I
have been victimized and discriminated by UKM for being outspoken
and critical on many issues of the larger Malaysian society. Since
they could not get rid of me earlier, they had to wait for my
official retirement. The University�s often-repeated policy of
retaining senior staff in their post-retirement period is a mere
rhetoric without any substance. I have contributed much to the
academic and intellectual development of the University for the past
25 years; however, the abrogation of the contract has repudiated
this contribution. I hereby demand that UKM re-institute my contract
on the basis of normal/accepted two-year contract, consistent with
the directives on re-employment of retired staff.
Prof. P. Ramasamy |