Safety will not be hit by budget cuts, says vice-chancellor

KUALA LUMPUR: The budget cuts are also affecting Universiti Malaya’s upkeep of facilities.

Its vice-chancellor Tan Sri Prof Dr Mohd Amin Jalaludin admitted that the university was reviewing its upgrading and renovation policies in view of its present situation.

However, he gave an assurance that the university would spare no expense in ensuring the safety and maintenance of its facilities.

In the past two months, The Star received complaints about leaky roofs, broken chairs and faulty air-conditioning from students and staff of the university.

A senior academic of 20 years who declined to be identified, pointed out that buildings at the Faculty of Medicine have not had any major upgrades since they were built.

Coupled with budget cuts, she claimed that the 2017 allocation by the Higher Education Ministry was just enough to pay for tenured staff until September next year.

“There is no money for routine maintenance and repairs, let alone development,” she said.

Sunday Star reported that funds that have been set aside by the Higher Education Ministry for UM this year was only RM370mil, 20% less than what it received in 2016.

Apart from the medical faculty, undergraduates from the Faculty of Performing Arts are also complaining of a less-than-conducive environment for their studies.

Holes on sprung floors could be seen at one of their dance studios, no thanks to termites.

Though it has been patched up, the quick-fix has led to injuries.

A 20-year-old undergraduate taking Bachelor of Dance ruptured her tendon this semester which will keep her out of action for more than a month.

This was because sprung wooden floors were replaced with a concrete one, with only a thin layer of padding on top.

Her injury, she said, has affected the results of her evaluations.

Due to limited space, a dance lecturer was also accidentally injured by one of her students last month.

She ended up in the emergency room at Assunta Hospital as a kick left her with an injury to her left hand.

There were also claims that non-faculty based societies are now being charged for the use of certain facilities.

President of UM’s Chinese Langu­age Society Wong Yan Ke, 20, claimed they have to hold their activities outdoors when the university started imposing fees his year.

He claimed the society had to fork out RM100 each week to rent venues for certain activities, with the remaining ones held at public areas.

“Public spaces are usually noisy. For some activities, we need to rent rooms. Right now, our seniors who have graduated are helping us.”

However, it cannot go on like this for long, he said.

Universiti Malaya Orator Council president Nazeeha Ziarat Khan pointed out that the university continues to support their activities.

“We have no problem getting funding. Though we are not given allowances, but when we travel for competitions, all the fees, food, accommodation and transportation continue to be sponsored by the university,” she said.

In a reply, Dr Mohd Amin gave assurance that facilities in the university will remain “largely free” and accessible to students.

“The university has also put in place numerous channels for suggestions on improvements.

“In the past three years, it made massive investments in connectivity, Wi-Fi coverage, upgrading of general amenities, lecture theatres, laboratories, sustainable technologies, and accommodation,” he said.