Are Most Vice Chancellors or Rectors of State-owned Universities in Malaysia Political Appointees ?

There are hues and cries over the termination of service of the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Selangor (Unisel) which takes effects on 31st July, 2008, labelling the decision of the newly-installed State Government of Selangor as politically motivated.

I am more inclined to believe that any such appointment to the highest executive post of a public institute of higher learning in Malaysia is based on relatively some academic credentials of the appointee though not absolutely so. It doesn't come as a complete surprise to me when the service of the current VC of Unisel is terminated by the new Chief Minister of Selangor after the People's Front (PR) took over the administration of the state from the National Front (BN) after the 2008 General Elections. The new State Government has every rights to act the way they do if the action is legally in order. It has been reported that the VC was given an initial probationary period of 6 months before he can be confirmed in the top post. For reasons best known to the previous State Government, he was never confirmed at the end of the 6-month period and his probation was further extended to another 6 months. What does this tell you ? Under our prevailing Labour Laws, an employer has the rights to terminate the service of an employee by way of notice at any time at the former's discretion if the latter is not confirmed in his post. And I am not going to dwell on the intricacy of such Laws.

Like Unisel, another institute of higher learning under the ambit of the Selangor State Government is expected to undergo some reshuffles of its top management soon purportedly because of active political involvement of particular senior staff of the institute supporting and campaigning for the BN in the last General Elections. My common sense will tell me that such staff should willingly tender their resignation immediately when there was a change of government for moral reasons. If you are opposed to the current Government, you should go at your own accord. Period.

Are the conditions surrounding the dismissal of Unisel's VC similar to that of the other establishment ?