ALOR SETAR: The Higher Education Ministry will respond accordingly if former Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) vice-chancellor Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah, who is Perikatan Nasional's candidate for Jitra, continues to speak about his shortened tenure on the campaign trail.
Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said the ministry has explained the reason why Haim's term was cut short and there was no need for further explanation.
"I think he (Haim) has also made a statement that he no longer wants to prolong the matter, and the ministry has also responded," he said.
Khalid, however, said that if Haim continued to bring up the matter, the ministry would respond accordingly.
It was reported that Haim had expressed his intention not to continue talking about his shortened tenure as vice-chancellor as he wanted to focus on his campaign trail.
In a Facebook post recently, the academician-turned-politician revealed that there were relentless attacks against him personally but he had anticipated it before deciding to jump into politics.
On Saturday (July 29), the ministry, in a statement, clarified that Haim's tenure was cut short due to a report on his performance by the university's board of directors.
The ministry denied Haim's claims on social media over the matter, saying that his performance report was submitted in a letter dated June 16, 2022.
Haim was appointed as UUM's ninth vice-chancellor on Jan 17, 2022, and his service period was shortened to Jan 18, 2023.
Khaled was speaking during a working visit to the university to attend a briefing on the university's future planning.
The briefing was presented by the university's current vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Foad Sakdan.
After the briefing, he also launched UUM First Child Student Programme 2.0 (Program Sulung 2.0).
The programme involves students who are first child of B40 families where they will receive cash aid of RM4,998 for their education at the university.
During the launch of the programme, a total of 10 eligible students have received aid from the minister.
The programme is part of the university's corporate social responsibility (CSR) programmes.
Khaled also witnessed a mock cheque presentation for RM1.5mil from UUM subsidiary company Uniutama Education and Consultancy Sdn Bhd (UECSB) for the Program Sulung 2.0.
The programme was introduced in 2022 with an aim to provide an opportunity for the first generation in B40 households – who have yet to see a family member pursue a bachelor’s degree or higher qualification – to continue their tertiary studies.
