CLAIMS by a municipal councillor that he has been blacklisted by Bahrain University are being investigated.
Southern Municipal Council member and university area councillor Talal Al Basheer submitted an official complaint to council chairman Bader Al Tamimi that he has been denied entry repeatedly into the Sakhir campus.
He claims the university was acting against him for allegedly breaching university rules while campaigning during the 2018 elections as he was an employee at the time.
Misunderstanding
The university strongly denies the suggestion and believes it may be a personal grudge that needs addressing or a simple misunderstanding.
Mr Al Basheer believes former work colleagues at the university, mostly from his area, displayed his photograph on their cars during the last election as a show of support and had nothing to do with him.
“Had the elections panel found that I had breached rules, I wouldn’t have been in this place now serving for my third year running,” he told the GDN from the council chamber.
“If people love me then that’s up to them, but I can’t be penalised for something that happened three years down the road.”
He says he has genuine reasons for trying to return to his old stamping ground. “I’m trying to prepare a proposal on developing facilities on campus to better accommodate the number of students.
“I arrived in all innocence and the security clearly told me that I was ‘blacklisted’ and I tried to gain entry at multiple gates without any success.”
The university is adamant that Al Basheer is not on a ‘blacklist’ and promised to look into the matter of the entry gate controversy.
“We have not banned or blacklisted any municipal councillor or MP from entering the university,” said university president Professor Riyad Hamzah.
“It could be a personal grudge against the councillor or a simple misunderstanding. There is nothing systematic against Mr Al Basheer or any other person.
“The university respects all public representatives and they visit us regularly to talk about numerous issues – recently the online testing system – and visits come through simplified notifications or arrangements.
“The issue will be thoroughly investigated and we are waiting for the official complaint from the council.”
Under election rules, those accepted to contest parliament or municipal elections have to stay off work with pay until they are either eliminated from the contest or win a seat.
The situation bemused Mr Al Tamimi who said from personal experience, and from someone who has been elected twice, the university normally welcomes people with past experience and ideas that could help the establishment improve.
“Perhaps it’s something personal against Mr Al Basheer, but in the end he is trying to work for the people and shouldn’t be facing this kind of hassle,” he said.
“We have voiced concern over the years regarding the ‘overcrowded’ situation of Bahrain University and Bahrain Polytechnic and are concerned about the challenges of introducing adequate social distance measures if full education on campus returns.
“Both universities are handling more than their capacities. If on-site education resumes, how will it be safe and how will social distancing be implemented in already crowded study rooms, labs, recreational and dining areas and sports facilities?
“There are not even enough car parks for students and it has been years since we first demanded the capacity issue be addressed.”
The council threatened in 2017 to stop enrolment if multi-storey car parks for students and faculty members were not provided.
The council says it is regularly bombarded during term-time with complaints over congestion issues around Bahrain University’s Sakhir campus and the shared facilities with Bahrain Polytechnic at the Isa Town campus.
mohammed@gdn.com.bh
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