Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang has revealed that he attempted to seek Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's intervention in the termination of Prof P Ramasamy's contract with Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

"I met the prime minister on Aug 19 and took Prof Ramasamy's case up with him," he told a public forum at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur last night.

"He has not been able to intervene yet. Maybe he's busy, I think. It is not possible to expect the prime minister to intervene in everything," Lim explained.

Lim revealed this to almost 50 participants - mostly friends and supporters of Ramasamy - at a more than three-hour long DAP-organised forum titled 'Higher Education: A Worsening Crisis' at Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall in Kuala Lumpur.

The political science lecturer who served in UKM for more than two decades, was not given any reason why his contract was terminated, effective last Aug 27.

Ramasamy retired on May 10 this year and he was re-employed on a monthly contractual basis for two years - until May 9, 2007.

"I'm very disappointed with (Higher Education Minister) Dr Shafie (Mohd Salleh). When he was first appointed as the higher education minister, I had very high hopes that he will be a good minister," said Lim.

"One and a half year has gone and he (Shafie) has not been able to deliver," he claimed.

Global champions

According to the opposition leader, he has sought to meet Shafie on Ramasamy's case as well as that of Prof Dr Edmund Terence Gomez who was not allowed to go on two years' leave by Universiti Malaya until the prime minister intervened.

"But he (Shafie) cannot be found. He cannot be contacted. I was also unable to leave messages for him. In this IT (information technology) world, that also could not done," he noted in a sarcastic tone.

Speaking at the event, Ramasamy accused Shafie of condoning malpractices in the universities.

"I take this opportunity to tell him to make a gracious exit because he is not doing his job as entrusted by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi," he said.

Ramasamy reiterated that academically, the UKM management could not find any fault with him.

According to him, the management "could not find a reason to terminate me and so they waited for my retirement."

He also called on UKM vice-chancellor Prof Dr Mohd Salleh Mohd Yasin to come clean on the grounds of termination.

Ramasamy added that "there is a need to set up a royal commission of inquiry to enable the higher education ministry to study the issue of higher education, academic quality and the appointment of staff, quality of research and so on".

DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, who also spoke at the forum, cited four criteria in creating Malaysians to be global champions and in establishing a sound education system based on merit.

"The four aspects which must be included are to be results-driven, knowledge and technologically-based, ethically-centred as well as fulfilling social and national responsibility. If our universities do not fulfill these four criteria, then they have failed in their primary duty to promote creativity, initiative, excellence and competitiveness in our human resources," said Guan Eng.

The DAP leader also said that "Malaysia needs a meritocracy that maximises investments in human capital and harnesses our human resource potential which has been widely identified as the engines for wealth creation".

Other speakers included lawyer P Uthayakumar while Kepong MP Dr Tan Seng Giaw moderated the forum.