Sabah to submit list of candidates as UMS chairman

KOTA KINABALU, Aug 7 (Bernama) — The Sabah government will submit a list of candidates for the post of the Board of Directors chairman of Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) following the resignation of Datuk K Y Mustafa on Aug 1.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal said the matter would be discussed with Sabah Yang Dipertua Negeri Tun Juhar Mahiruddin as UMS Chancellor along with the university management to ensure the best candidates would be proposed.

“We have received K Y Mustafa's resignation letter. The list of candidates will be scrutinised first as the most important thing is the capability to manage the administration of UMS and its students,” he said to reporters after the Sabah Legislative Assembly meeting today.

K Y Mustafa assumed the post on Nov 1 last year and was supposed to serve until Oct 31, 2012.

However, K Y Mustafa, a former state secretary, resigned early, apparently due to dissatisfaction over the appointment of the UMS vice-chancellor by the Ministry of Education.

Prof Dr Taufiq Yap Yun Hin was appointed as the new vice-chancellor replacing Prof Datuk Dr D Kamarudin D Mudin effective July 31. However, his appointment created controversy as the ministry was said to have not consulted the state government on the matter.

Acknowledging that the appointment of the vice-chancellor is the prerogative of the ministry, Mohd Shafie, however, said the ministry should be aware that UMS has its own specific plans for excellence.

“K Y Mustafa informed me about his decision and I tried my best to convince him to stay. He felt that there were management decisions made without proper discussions and the appointment of the VC was made by the ministry (without any proper discussion),” he said.

“I know it is their prerogative, but a discussion with the state government is important to ensure a proper service delivery system because the education industry is really important. This should be a reminder to federal agencies on what is happening in Sabah and other states,” he said. 

Mohd Shafie said the resignation of K Y Mustafa was a great loss to UMS as he was an experienced academic figure and was appointed as the chairman by the state government based on his expertise in management and training.

— BERNAMA