UM Student Group Calls For VC Abdul Rahim To Resign For Being "Weak, Vain & Incompetent"

The student group said that the manner in which the UM VC has tried to cover up students' claims about sexual harassment at the hands of a lecturer shows that he is "incompetent, if not a hypocrite".

Abdul Rahim, UMANY said in a statement, "had been brave and bold to lodge police reports against students of University Malaya when they protested against racism".

"Now, the question is, why can't he do the same when students of Universiti Malaya become victims of sexual harassment at the hands of a lecturer? Why cover things up?"

The group said that this sends out "a clear signal that our Vice-Chancellor is weak" and urged for such a VC to resign to "make room for organisational reforms" in the Integrity Unit and Disciplinary Committee.

According to the VC, the information was protected by the Personal Data Protection Act.

However, UMANY has since condemned Abdul Rahim for making "a shameless statement".

"We opine that the UM management should make a public announcement telling the students the final verdict of this sexual harassment case. However, justice was sacrificed, most probably in a final struggle to safeguard whatever remaining reputation the university now holds," read the statement.

The UM student group claimed that despite there being several students whom the disgraced lecturer had preyed on, the UM management only demoted the lecturer.

According to UMANY, such a punishment can only have so little effect on the lecturer — who has since retired — and "still has a high-income payroll" to live off the rest of his life comfortably.

"Has justice been served? Or will others follow suit by making use of such a procedural loophole?"

"It would not even be able to stop the perpetrator from seeking revenge and re-committing the crime again. This shows that there is a severe problem in our university system," UMANY said.

In the statement, the group accused the UM management of worrying more about its "reputation" than it did about the safety and welfare of its students who had been sexually harassed by the lecturer.

"To protect the reputation of the university, the VC can even resort to such lies, with hopes that this case would eventually die down. Does this indirectly tell us, that there something "fishy" about this case?"