Universiti Utara Malaysia Staff To Wear Batik

The Star reported today that Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) staff are now required to wear batik to work on the first and third Sunday of each month.

They should wear the university’s batik uniform on the first Sunday and ‘batik' clothes of their choice on the third Sunday. They should wear the university’s batik uniform on the first Sunday and ‘batik' clothes of their choice on the third Sunday.

UUM vice-chancellor Datuk Dr Nordin Kardi said the campaign, which began last week, was in line with the government’s campaign encouraging civil servants to wear batik at work. Dr Nordin said wearing batik would help to promote local batik producer and industry.

Don't academics have better things to do than to think about trivialities?

Will academics get their contracts terminated like Dr Azly Rahman if they refuse to wear the universities' batik uniform?

Are academics now "civil servants" first, and academics second? As far as I am concerned, academics in the top universities will rather be over their dead bodies, than to be referred to as "civil servants".

Does Dr Nordin's attempt to "promote local batik producer and industry" mean that some well connected batik uniform manufacturers gets a decent contract for something to be worn 12 times a year?

How did news like this get into the press anyway? Was Dr Nordin so proud of this little brain wave, that he actually invited the media to write about it?

Sigh.