Academics’ pay, mobility: Changes long overdue

I have been following with much interest the recent
much-talked about issue of Edmund Terence Gomez who has
decided to quit Universiti Malaya following his failure to get
leave to take up a research position with one of the UN
agencies.

As an academic who has served the country for over 22 years
and who has now decided to explore other parts of the world,
this kind of issue touches my very heart and soul.

What I don't understand is that since Malaysian public
universities are now under their very own ministry, instead of
the Education Ministry, why is it that the Higher Education
Ministry - who is headed by an ex-academic - has failed to be
more responsive to the needs of academics? Much changes are
overdue if our universities want to retain their best
academics let alone attract new ones.

For now, I only have two issues to talk about which affect not
only Gomez but other Malaysian academics as well. Gomez has
been offered a very attractive research position with a UN
body. Thus, rightly UM should have been very pleased with the
offer received by Gomez since his involvement with the
research will only bring a good name to UM specifically and to
Malaysia generally.

After all, the position is only for two years after which he
would return to UM with an additional experience having done
research with a prestigious UN body (which would definitely be
beneficial to the university).

Granted UM has certain rules to follow, but rules can be
changed, can they not, particularly when they can make things
better? The fact of the matter is not many Malaysians are now
employed with the various UN bodies unlike Indians or even
Filipinos.

Thus, instead of stopping Gomez or any other Malaysian from
working (either temporarily or permanently) with any of the UN
bodies, UM or any other governmental agency should instead
encourage their staff to do that. After all, Malaysia is a
member of the UN and has always paid it annual dues.

Secondly, a position with the UN is usually very lucrative
which makes it very hard for anyone to reject an offer from
it. One can easily verify this by visiting the websites of any
of the various UN agencies which advertise ‘employment
opportunities’. The experience one can gain from such a
posting will be very good for one's CV as well.

We all know Malaysian public universities do not pay their
academics very well, particularly at the beginning of their
salary scale. Since I am quite familiar with the situation in
the Middle East, particularly the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) countries, let me just make a quick comparison between
the salaries offered by of Malaysian and Middle Eastern
universities such as those in United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

In these two countries, a fresh PhD graduate can easily get a
tax-free salary of RM10,000 a month (if not more with free,
fully-furnished accommodation thrown in as well) which is much
more than what a full professor in Malaysia earns (and that
only after years of experience and after meeting rigorous
criteria).

The starting salary offered by Malaysian public universities
to those with a PhD is pathetic to say the least. It is no
wonder that Malaysian universities find it hard to attract
their best graduates to opt for academic career even with a
scholarship to further their education up to a PhD level.

The current salaries are particularly unattractive following
the 1997 currency crisis which resulted in 25 percent
devaluation of the ringgit. It was as if Malaysians suffered a
25 percent pay cut as a result of the crisis.

The time is long overdue for the Malaysian authorities
(particularly the newly created Higher Education Ministry) to
revise the salary structure for academic staff at Malaysian
public universities.

After all, Malaysia aspires to be a developed country in the
not too distant future. Just look down south, across the
causeway, to the country which is now considered a first world
country and one can easily see why the universities there are
attracting the best PhD graduates - many of whom are
Malaysians.

Malaysiakini
Academics’ pay, mobility: Changes long overdue
May 24, 05 1:50pm