The Malaysian Insight

THE road to hell is paved with good intentions, or so people say.

So the question for Education Minister Maszlee Malik is simple, if he wants to save public funds by being International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) president for free, why doesn’t he do it for all public universities?

Otherwise, he is just talking nonsense. The other reason that he was named to the post by the university’s constitutional head, the sultan of Pahang, is also nonsense. He can refuse it.

But if Maszlee insists on keeping the post, then he is no different from the butt of Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu’s joke in the GE14 campaign that Najib Razak the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) advisory chairman asking Finance Minister Najib Razak for funds with approval from Prime Minister Najib Razak.

So can you imagine Maszlee Malik the IIUM president asking Education Minister Maszlee Malik for anything and getting it? What about the other universities, setting aside the funds saved from making him the head of all universities.

As Mohamad said it then, “If this is how the government works, then no mountain of gold or diamonds will be enough for expenditure.” And that is the reason the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government won, making promises it won’t be like the Barisan Nasional (BN) government.

See, these shenanigans over the IIUM post reflect many things about Malaysia and the steady decline of integrity over the years. Even before 1MDB, there have been scandals from Maminco to Perwaja to the privatisation-then-nationalisation of Malaysia Airlines.

One would think that a fresh face like Maszlee would know what he is doing by taking up the IIUM post. That it is impossible to wear two hats at once, and if he doesn’t think so, look at Najib Razak today.

It was not only the 1MDB and government roles that tripped him, but Najib was also the Selangor BN director in the 2013 general elections when he was also the national BN chairman.

Was he able to reproach himself for not retaking Selangor in that elections? Did he also take responsibility for losing the popular vote in 2013, apart from getting fewer federal seats?

So what would Maszlee do for IIUM now that he can’t do as minister? What about the other aspects of education from primary to secondary and tertiary education? This is no easy ministry and any policy will take time to fruit.

It is easy to say taking the job will save public funds but that is being penny-wise and pound foolish. A man working for free will not have the same responsibility as a man working for money.

Pay the IIUM president and any other academic their worth and make them accountable for the job. Otherwise, we are just looking at another 1MDB in the making with this IIUM appointment.

One would think that academics are smart as their job is to educate students and Maszlee comes across as one of the smarter ones in the system. But this IIUM episode so early in Maszlee’s political career shows that those in the system need a higher standard of intelligence and integrity.

And definitely more common sense. – September 7, 2018.

* Jahabar Sadiq runs The Malaysian Insight.