NEW UNIMAS CHAIRMAN’s APPOINTMENT
KUCHING: The appointment of Tan Sri Dr Kamal Mat Salih as Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) board of directors chairman without consulting the Sarawak government is high handed and insensitive.
Welfare, Community Wellbeing, Women, Family and Childhood Development Minister Datuk Seri Fatimah Abdullah said the appointment showed the Pakatan Harapan federal government was flexing muscles to show off their power.
She was commenting on the recent appointment of Kamal, who is the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (Mier) chairman as Unimas board of directors chairman replacing Tan Sri Sulong Matjeraie.
Fatimah said the message that was being sent out from the matter was: “We (Pakatan Harapan) are the ruling government, education is under our purview and the appointment is our prerogative. Thus, we need not consult the state government for the appointment of chairman of Unimas board and we appoint any individual who suits our needs.”
Fatimah pointed out that there were several other appointments to agencies under federal purview which were done in a similar manner.
“There is no consultation, no notice, just ‘redah ajak’ (go ahead).”
On Friday, the Chief Minister’s Office released a statement that they (state government) were only informed of the news through the media and was not officially notified of the Unimas chairman’s appointment.
The statement said the Sarawak government would seek clarification on the matter from the federal government.
