KUCHING: Dewan Negara president Tan Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar described his appointment by Universiti Keusahawanan Koperasi Malaysia (UKKM) as its adjunct professor as an honour.
However, he stressed that he needed clearance from the Attorney General’s (AG’s) Chambers on whether the appointment would breach any provisions of the Federal Constitution.
“Therefore, I have to decline UKKM’s offer of appointment as an adjunct professor because it might contravene the provisions of Article 56(3) of the Federal Constitution,” he said in a statement today.
Earlier, Wan Junaidi received a courtesy call from the university’s delegation during which UKKM presented its offer of adjunct professorship to Wan Junaidi.
He described the university as something he was proud of as he had overseen its establishment in September 2020 while serving as the federal minister of entrepreneur development and cooperatives.
“My initiative was welcomed by the board of Institut Koperasi Malaysia (IKM) and the Cooperatives Commission of Malaysia (SKM) before finally receiving the endorsement of the Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives,” he said.
Wan Junaidi said that being the first cooperative university in Malaysia, UKKM’s main attraction was its offer of a unique academic experience for graduates.
“This is where their study duration will be combined with industrial apprenticeship with the private sector, both local and international, which in turn will overcome the issue of graduates unemployability and unemployment,” he said.
The Dewan Negara president said UKKM’s financial operation is not dependent on grants from the government, but instead is based on endowments and scholarships from strategic partnerships with industry players.
“I wish UKKM all the best and I look forward to its developments in the near future,” Wan Junaidi added.
