Can a bankrupt head a medical faculty dept, ask netizens

A search conducted with the insolvency department on Thursday confirms that the academic was declared a bankrupt in 2014 and remains undischarged.

PETALING JAYA: An interview given by a senior academic to a news portal has prompted netizens to ask how a person declared a bankrupt 10 years ago can be allowed to hold high office in a public university.

A search conducted with the insolvency department confirms that the academic was declared a bankrupt in 2014 and remains undischarged as of Thursday.

In a message to FMT this evening, a spokesman for the university said an investigation was being carried out and an announcement would be made on Monday.

Several netizens claimed they enrolled in a private medical university the don began some 10 years ago which was later shut down, forcing the government to step in.

One post claimed the closure resulted in a number of students failing to complete their studies, compelling them to leave and take up other courses.

Another claimed to have suffered losses which have not been recovered until today, expressing shock at how the academic could be allowed to lead an important department under the medical faculty that produces doctors and specialists.

The netizen said many staff of the private university also suffered as a result of the closure, which led to the loss of their jobs.

One victim said in her post that the university, in which the academic was both owner and president, had advised students to take out bank loans, promising that they would be provided with scholarships.

“We took PTPTN loans too, and when it (the university) was shut down, we lost everything. We are still repaying the loans.

“The government stepped in to send us to other universities but we had to start all over again after four years of study and had to pay fresh fees,” the netizen said on Facebook.

Another post claimed that some 100 students were left in the lurch while the academic in question went “missing”.

The same academician was involved when a batch of Mara scholars got into difficulties after fees owed to an Indonesian medical college were not settled, another Facebook user said.

“Again, the government had to step in to save the students’ future by settling it.”

FMT reached out to the academic on Wednesday.