Asli director resigned

Director of Centre of Public Policy Studies (CPPS) or Asli, the think-tank that issued a report stating bumi equity has reached 45% and not the 18.9% claimed by the government, has resigned.

Top academic Dr Lim Teck Ghee has tendered his resignation from Asli following its president Mirzan Mahathir’s decision to retract that study report. Mirzan did so after his dad criticised that report.

I am not sure whether Mirzan, no doubt Asli’s president, is qualified to comment that the study's methodology contained a number of shortcomings and was flawed.

Dr Lim didn’t bother to argue. He resigned, stating: “As director of the CPPS, I take full responsibility, and stand by the findings of the study and other studies that were submitted in our report to the government on the Ninth Malaysia Plan in February 2006.”

“Since I cannot agree with Mirzan's statement and because of the need to defend the position and integrity of independent and non-partisan scholarship, I regret to inform that I will be stepping down from my position as director at the end of the month.”

Did he resign because he was miffed with his boss, or was he pressured into doing so, as a face saving gesture to UMNO leaders who apart from raving and ranting against his report, had threatened Asli to withdraw the report.

Malaysiakini described his resignation as shocking but I term it as inevitable.

Lim was a Universiti Malaya professor, and had worked as United Nations regional advisor on poverty and social development as well as being senior political scientist for the World Bank. He has authored and edited over 80 books and articles on economic history, developmental issues and challenges in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.

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