Academics Dr Azly Rahman and his wife, Dr Mutiara Mohamad, ticked off University Utara Malaysia (UUM) for resorting to personal attacks when the main issue for their sacking was their refusal to sign the loyalty pledge.

UUM in ahard-hitting press statement last Friday claimed that the couple owed the university RM1.25 million in compensation and suggested that their termination was not solely based on their refusal to sign the pledge required from all academics.

"It was a tough decision for Mutiara and I to go public on the 'private' reasons," said Azly.

UUM said Azly, who is also a malaysiakini columnist, and his wife were granted permission by the university to further their PhD studies in Colombia University in the United States for three years beginning from 1997.

All expenses, including their monthly salaries, were covered by UUM during that period.

It said the couple had also asked for extensions on four occasions to complete their studies, and this was granted with their monthly salaries paid and their expenses financed by the university despite being absent from duty.

Financial hardship

"The amount the university is claiming from us will take us perhaps five lifetimes to settle. We shall leave the complexity of the issue to our lawyers. It is a personal matter the public is perhaps not interested in reading about," said Azly.
However, the academic said he had to respond to the university's accusations and spell out the reasons behind their requests for study extensions and then for a non-paid leave upon completion of their studies.

This included the financial hardship the couple faced when the value of the ringgit fell sharply as a result of the 1997 Asian financial crisis during their PhD studies.

In addition, the couple had to take care of a loved one who had a terminal illness which resulted in death, and that one of their children had to undergo numerous specialist's visits after suffering from loss of hearing,

Mutiara also faced years of debilitating medical condition which culminated in a major surgery recently.

Dismissed and punished

"The public is interested in knowing that one can actually be dismissed and lose everything by taking a stand against the letter of the oath of loyalty (Akujanji), although one is already confirmed in the job and although the Akujanji was a later addition to existing rules/circular already in place.

"Had we been given the much-needed non-paid leave, we would by now have already gone back to serve the university," said both husband and wife, who are now teaching in United States.

"Had we been given the explanation and guarantees that the Akujanji will not criminalise and victimise us as academics with a voice and a stand to make, we would have signed it.

"Better still, had the letter not existed, the universities will not be seeing a petition sent to the prime minister and currently circulated to major Malaysian public universities to have it removed."

The duo reiterated that they were "dismissed, punished, and stripped off of our life-long earned retirement benefits" because of their opposition to Akujanji.

UUM had recently sent a legal notice to Azly demanding for a public apology and to stop writing articles that tarnish UUM.

However, the academic has refused to do so.

"We hope the public will appreciate our explanation of the private and public dimensions of the issue," said Azly and Mutiara.

"Let us now work on removing the repressive oath of loyalty, so that no academician will be fired for refusing to sign it nor any student will be suspended for asking questions in a public forum and so forth."


The private and public dimensions of our dismissal