Malaysian universities falling out of top 200 universities in QS World University Rankings 2010 latest proof that Najib’s NEM are just empty words lacking political will and leadership necessary to effect Malaysia’s economic transformation


Malaysian universities have again fallen out of the top 200 universities in the latest QS World University Rankings 2010, with University of Malaya falling from last year’s ranking of 180 to 207.

This is the latest proof that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s New Economic Model are just empty words lacking the political will and leadership necessary to effect Malaysia’s economic transformation to escape the decades-long “middle-income trap” to become a inclusive and sustainable high-income developed country by 2020.

The Najib premiership is fast developing a split personality – plugging the NEM for international consumption with its recognition of human talents as the most valuable national assets in the era of globalization while ignoring NEM locally for fear of evoking extremist opposition to its proposals on new affirmative policies based on meritocracy and needs.

During the Sibu by-election in May this year, I had referred to the latest QS Asian University Rankings 2010 where the country’s premier institution of higher education, University of Malaya had dropped two places to 41st this year from 39 last year while Universiti Sains Malaysia, which was granted Apex status in 2008 only managed to maintain its ranking at 69, and lamented Malaysia becoming the “sick man of South-East Asia”- with a decade of economic stagnation and national decline in all aspects of national life, whether educational excellence, good governance, institutional professionalism, human rights or environmental protection.

The warning by NEM, crafted by a panel of local and foreign experts that “We must act now before our position deteriorates any further” had failed to make any impact or impression whatsoever as far as the government leadership is concerned.

I have today received an email from a post-graduate student in University of Malaya expressing his concern at my lamentation.

The email reads:

I’m a postgrad student in University of Malaya.

Prof Ghauth Jasmon was appointed as a Vice Chancellor of UM two years ago with a great vision to make this university a world class university. Being the vice chancellor of the oldest university in this country which is also well known of producing many great and famous leaders, is a heavy burden.

I completed my bachelor degree in this university and registered my PhD right after that which was in the same year Prof Ghauth Jasmon was appointed as the VC of the university.

In that time, I had witnessed a great change and improvement he had implemented in this university in a goal to improve quality and the world ranking of the university.

Prof Jasmon is a meritocracy oriented academician and he has opened up a vast opportunity to many lecturers and famous researcher to join this university regardless of their ethnicity, complexion or religion.

A series of good but strict rules and policies had been made to achieve the goal. In the eyes of some profs, academic and admin staffs who used to live an easy life, appointment of Prof Jasmon as VC has become a nightmare to them. Thus, some resistance force has arisen and stood against his way but yet he is still standing firmly and continue doing his job to make this university a better university.

I notice there is a drop of ranking of UM this year but the ranking is disputed and it cannot be fully used as a reference in judging the quality of the university.

I support Prof Ghauth Jasmon and I think he deserves more support from the government and all the political parties in this country to achieve the goal.

I hope DAP can go easy on the drop of the ranking of local universities this year.

In fact, compliment and credits should be given to him for all his hardwork in improving the university in terms of increment in number of publications and number of academic staff.

If this post-graduate student is right, and I know many who have the interests of University of Malaya and the nation at heart share this view, it only means that University of Malaya would not have just plunged 27 rankings but probably double the drop if not for Professor Ghauth Jasmon at the helm of University of Malaya.

This is indeed serious food for thought.

  1. #1 by dagen on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 10:27 am

    Standing still is not a option in this world. And in a country where meritocracy is never practised, it is small wonder that the postgrad student should express so much hope even when little droppings of meritocracy were detected.

    Jiiib Jiiiiiiib Boooooleeeeeeeh.

    … dagen slowing down to flow with the pace of the nation.

  2. #2 by k1980 on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 10:41 am

    Malaysia becoming the “sick man of South-East Asia”

    BUT

    Someone we know is becoming the “rich man of South-East Asia”

    And that is more important for him than the former

  3. #3 by dcasey on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 10:49 am

    “We also cannot be ‘ranked’ against other universities whose ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different from ours. It is like comparing apples with oranges,” Higher Education Minister Mohd Khaled Nordin said yesterday.

    Yeah right Mr Minister….but problem is our Universities can’t even be compared with that of apples or oranges….maybe rambutans??. Our MACC joker in court even got the cheek to ask “Mahidol University?” Is that why the Minister said you can’t compare apples with oranges aaahh?

  4. #4 by pulau_sibu on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 11:11 am

    Please rank all the kangaroo ministers. Give them a ranking starting from this year

  5. #5 by Godfather on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 11:28 am

    Yes. Prof Ghauth Jasmon trying to reform UM is like PR taking over Selangor and Penang – the rest of the staff are so firmly entrenched that they see the new boss as the enemy.

    I heard that Prof Ghauth wanted to give the students more leeway in political discussion, but this was shot down by the Home Ministry. Then he tried to bring back professors whom he knew from his schooldays – and that received so much resistance from the old academic staff.

    Kit is correct – without Prof Ghauth, UM would have fallen off the map. The next test is whether or not he will be removed as VC due to the “political incorrectness” of his actions.

  6. #6 by sheriff singh on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 11:30 am

    Mahidol University is 28th in Asia. Universiti Malaya is number 42.

  7. #7 by digard on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 11:32 am

    Absolutely agreed. Ghauth Jasmon has done all the right things that he has been able to do. [Should you wonder, I am not affiliated with UM at all.]
    Actually, from what I read about the changes in the methodology and the ‘splitting’ of THES (THES severed the ties with QS rather abruptly earlier this year); expect worse for the THES rankings. The QS methodology has always favoured Malaysian universities for a number of reasons (see below). With THES moving along with an even higher stress on actual academic achievement, worse can be expected from the results of THES some time in October.

    The drop has nothing to do with the VC. Without him, yes, it would have been much worse. The drop stems from a change in the methodology and weights:

    “We have reduced the weight given to opinion from half under our old system to just over a third. The new tables pay more attention to evidence.”

    Also, the international student/staff contribution is at 5% as of recent.

    I am only astonished – and seriously worried – how easily Khaled Nordin did brush off the results. Had not the whole country, at least all universities, been focusing on writing the QS/THES ranking into their ‘misi’ and ‘visi’ statements? [And, not to forget, on the instructions of that same Minister]
    How can the Minister shrug off years of efforts as if nothing had happened?

  8. #8 by wanderer on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 12:01 pm

    …yet, UMNOputeras are trying to thrive to make Bolehland into a Smart country! A fine demonstration between the “beauty and the beast” in THB’s inquiry. Not bad, Malaysia was able to put up a clown to represent on behalf of all the professionals in the country….

  9. #9 by the reds on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 12:31 pm

    Uncle Lim is right – “University of Malaya would not have just plunged 27 rankings but probably double the drop if not for Professor Ghauth Jasmon at the helm of University of Malaya.”

    I am very sure UM will not be able to climb or even claw back to top 200, if BN were still in power. If the government is rotten, what can we expect from an education institution?

  10. #10 by cintanegara on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 12:38 pm

    DAP Socialist Youth National Chairman and MP for Rasah Loke Siew Fook obtained his Degree in Development Science from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). … Awkward indeed, a non top 500 best U graduate….Is the DAP leadership so weak that they cannot find anyone graduated from the ‘so called’ top university to lead the party?

  11. #11 by dagen on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 12:47 pm

    Hmmm I wonder if MP for rasah got in to UKM on the score of As and Bs or on the score of Cs and Ds and even Es?

  12. #12 by k1980 on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 12:50 pm

    //Loke Siew Fook obtained his Degree in Development Science from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia//

    Had YB Loke been a umnobumi, he would had been given a Mara scholarship to Harvard without even having to apply for it.

  13. #13 by yhsiew on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 12:54 pm

    NEM reforms brushed off in growth projections
    ==============================

    ///KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 7 — The New Economic Model (NEM) has yet to make a significant impression on global economic research analysts who do not appear to be taking the Najib administration’s economic blueprint into account in their current forecasts of Malaysia’s GDP growth./// – The Malaysian Insider

    The country is in hot soup as the NEM has been discounted by global economic research analysts as an INEFFECTIVE instrument to help revive the country’s ailing economy.

    The country becoming bankrupt by 2019 and Malaysians having to work as domestic servants in neighboring countries are becoming a reality as days go by!

  14. #14 by boh-liao on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 1:21 pm

    Not bad what, still + or – 10 around top 200 universities in d world, U know, despite hving 2 operate under NEP social contract, unlike other univ in d region

  15. #15 by undertaker888 on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 1:28 pm

    the recent drop is due to “city” of johor and the other guy from kedah…after taking account of the incident, the committee is saying, “heck, these people can’t be a univeristy graduate”. so a few rungs down the ranking.

    like cintanegara who got into “U” by getting chimpanzees, donkeys and elephants. how to take meritocracy seriously in this country?

  16. #16 by Godfather on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 1:41 pm

    Loke Siew Fook got into UKM through merit, whereas cintanegara got into his university through the quota system. Loke Siew Fook graduated through hard work whereas cintanegara graduated after the invigilators were told to “take it easy” on him because of a certain nebulous constitutional “right”.

    Loke Siew Fook worked diligently and honestly to provide for his family, whereas cintanegara kept asking the government for free fertilizers for his rambutan tree. Of course, cintanegara sold the fertilizers and bought a Bentley to show off to his kampung folks, and each time the government wants to remove the free fertilizers, cintanegara enlists the help of Perkasa to fight for the continuation of the handouts.

  17. #17 by Bunch of Suckers on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 1:52 pm

    #16 Godfather, GREAT COMMENT!!!

    Absolutely! Bunch of suckers only know how-to suck… They have been sucking over decades…

  18. #18 by wanderer on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 2:54 pm

    Poor Loke Siew Fook born a yellow skin. If he was born a brown chocolate bar, he would have scholarships flooding at his door! Just as well, otherwise, he would become like cintanegara, one of those cherry picker pricks!!!

  19. #19 by Loh on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 4:49 pm

    dcasey :
    “We also cannot be ‘ranked’ against other universities whose ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different from ours. It is like comparing apples with oranges,” Higher Education Minister Mohd Khaled Nordin said yesterday.

    Yeah right Mr Minister….but problem is our Universities can’t even be compared with that of apples or oranges….maybe rambutans??. Our MACC joker in court even got the cheek to ask “Mahidol University?” Is that why the Minister said you can’t compare apples with oranges aaahh?

    Certainly Malaysian universities are different from that of other countries. NEP makes sure that meritocracy is not practiced because it is racism. Besides non-Malays have the responsibility to ensure brain-parity among the different races; they are restricted from attending local universities. When Bolehland gives other universities the handicap of not enrolling the best students, and not hiring the best brains among the academia, it would be unfair for Malaysian universities to be compared with others. The Minister was certainly right that the conditions and environment the universities are in made Malaysian public universities unique. There are unique in producing unemployable graduates! The mission of Malaysian universities is different from the rest of the world. He is right that we can’t be comparing apple with oranges, and we cannot be comparing beings that only looked in human. The assumption that human looking beings have the brain which has similar functions might need verification. So the ranking has no meaning. The Minister should tell the rest of the world not to include Malaysia in the ranking. That is seditious.

  20. #20 by gofortruth on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 4:55 pm

    I can’t imagine if they do away with the UPSR & PMR exams & rely on teachers’s assessment. There will come the day where teachers are INSTRUCTED by ‘higher authority’ to give good assessment to certain individual students. Then, WELCOME TO CORRUPTION IN THE MALAYSIAN SCHOOL SYSTEM! The education standard will sink even lower.

    UPSR 1 PMR must stay, at least for NOW!!!!!!

  21. #21 by waterfrontcoolie on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 5:18 pm

    After all these years, I think the change is not forthcoming, it would indeed be more than a change of mind-set, it would be a convulsion! Just changing the U-level will not help to change the long-term mind-set; it has to start right from the bottom of the education process; likely another 60 years some 2 generations. At the school level, once the mind is moulded we will need tremendous effort to change not only the students but may be 60% of the teachers at all national schools. In the past, we tried the US system without knowing that their psychology was much different from Asians’; it would appear we did it just for the sake of changing towards anything except the need to compete! If this has been the reason for those changes that took place 30 years ago, do you think we can change overnight, especially if the reverse change calls for more hard work and effort and more importantly the challenges of free competition. The fear has already been indoctrinated all these years. YB Lim, it won’t be easy to ask for a change except it is for the RAAYAT to say so!

  22. #22 by somaris on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 5:43 pm

    WELL SAY GOD FATHER.
    I fully agreed with u.Cintanegara is a bunch of sucker.Shame of Malaysian.

  23. #23 by dagen on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 5:51 pm

    Forget the creator of prinsip prinsip economi pokok rambutan.

    Forget about umno and all umnoputras.

    Selamat Hari Raya too all the rest of malaysians.

  24. #24 by boh-liao on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 7:07 pm

    D rot has set in since mid 1970s
    Don’t expect things 2 turn around so quickly when many rots r still there in d system
    See, a postgrad in UM also knew there r deadwoods ‘used to live an easy life’
    MOHE keeps harping dat intake of students is now based on meritocracy (or racist, based on MMK’s definition)
    So UM shld not b producing unemployable or self-strangulating graduates, but bright 1s

  25. #25 by johnnypok on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 7:51 pm

    I do not think our HP6 leaders can see the good job done by the VC, and I will not be surprised if they blame him for the drop in ranking, and use it as an excuse to replace him.

  26. #26 by pulau_sibu on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 8:23 pm

    If we change the name from Malaya to Satu Malaysia, it will be ranked as satu.

  27. #27 by isahbiazhar on Thursday, 9 September 2010 - 8:42 pm

    The only way to stop sliding is to open all academic posts in the university to foreigners.The best candidate should be chosen even at the expense of a local one.We do not want our academics to enjoy all the perks and do not contribute anything.Those who are not doing research should be sent out to institutions where they could do administrative jobs.Just having Phds do not give them the right to high posts.A university is a place of discoveries and inventions and new thoughts.We have the calibre students and so their minds need to be utilized.It looks like now the university is nothing more than a high school!

  28. #28 by fido on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 12:29 am

    Don’t you see a trend in everything that happens in this country?

    1st – try to compare – spend $$$
    2nd – if cannot compare, say cannot compare apples to oranges – but still cont to spend $$$
    3rd – we will set our own standards coz we are different – still cont to spend $$$

    Finally, we still get no where but move in reverse!

    sounds familiar?? you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out.

    Stay focus on improving the country, put aside all the evil intentions…then only will the country improve…till then, we won’t get anywhere even with all the $$$ spent…period.

  29. #29 by johnnypok on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 2:10 am

    Agree with isahbiazhar’s comment … “It looks like now the university is nothing more than a high school”.

    It is the only factory in the world with a perpetual contract from the government, to mass-produce unemployable graduates.

  30. #30 by negarawan on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 9:07 am

    Malaysia under UMNO continues to slide down in competitiveness http://biz.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/9/10/business/7002909&sec=business

  31. #31 by Cinapek on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 9:17 am

    YB, the rot is just too deep. Changing just the VC is not enough. When you have several decades of practising a culture of mediocrity, it has become a way of life and the rot has permeated down to every level in the university’s structure.

    It will take a very brave man to clean this up. All the PM has to do is to get politics out of the U and allow the U to run thier own affairs. In this way the PM do not have to worry about the political backlash if the deadwood are removed by the university themselves.

  32. #32 by Dr MSN on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 9:17 am

    Ranking is not important- look at what the university has actually achieved:
    Teaching-consistently able to produce highly trained professionals
    Research- not just publication in high impact factor peer reviewed journals but systematic knowledge creation and actual scientific discovery -the two are not always synonymous (most of discoveries made by defence establishments are never actually published for peer review!! But they sure work-nuclear weapons, space science etc)
    The field of medicine has been the biggest loser because of this constant obsession with rankings, journal publication etc. Research scientists instead of actually setting themselves challenges to cure a particular disease are sidetracked by the need to publish or do what is publishable,
    If you look objectively at the field of medicine most of our successes have come from
    -better housing, clean water and sanitation, reduction in overcrowding
    -Healthy living- clean environment, exercise, assured food supply of good quality
    -Now increasingly preventive medicine- screening (much of it using imaging technology)
    -Vaccination- pioneered during the 1700-1800’s (Edward Jenner and his contemporaries discovered an effective vaccine for small pox merely by using his power of observation. After billions of dollars spent modern researchers are not able to come up with a vaccine for dengue/HIV etc!!!)
    -Medical Engineering- MRI, CT scans, radiotherapy, arterial stents, dialysis machines, artificial mechanical hearts, gastrointestinal scopes, implants etc
    Surgical-caesarean sections, tumour excision etc
    Pharmaceutical- drug companies will invent/produce a drug as long as it is profitable (main consideration)
    But in the real heart of medicine ie the biological aspects of disease such as actual underlying cause of a disease and pathogenesis the progress has been less dramatic. Try reading medical literature on the actual underlying cause of common disease like hypertension, diabetes and coronary artery disease for a start. You will find that a huge amount of research has been done and published but the actual usable knowledge generated is patchy resulting in incomplete understanding of the disease process. Common sense would indicate that if you don’t know what the underlying problem is your chances of finding a solution would be compromised.
    Part of the problem is that this area of medicine for some strange reason has been the traditional preserve of universities. University lecturers/researchers traditionally have to provide evidence of scholarship in the form of journal publication. So the focus is more towards doing things that are quickly publishable rather than actual meticulous knowledge build up.
    Of course the loser is the tax paying public because your money is used in a less efficient way than what it should be-poor ROI. So instead of worrying about the ranking of the university set your local university targets. University A- cure for dengue within 10 years-either vaccine or effective treatments for DHS/DSS.

  33. #33 by sheriff singh on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 9:31 am

    It is like the Civil Service staffed by an army of mediocre people. It is difficult to change the culture and thinking.

    Many are just waiting for the VC’s contract to end and a new VC appointed and it will then be back to the ‘good ole days’.

  34. #34 by Winston on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 9:46 am

    Uncle Lim, worry not!
    Together, we, the very dissatisfied electorate of this country, will in unison, jettison UMNO/BN in the next GE!
    So, fellow bloggers, spread the message, UMNO/BN out, PR in!!!

  35. #35 by boh-liao on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 10:23 am

    Yeah, d contract of d current UM VC is coming up within a year
    Contract extended or given d boot – watch d show
    VC may b progressive n want 2 change, but deadwoods, with political support, may prevail
    2 b fair 2 d VC, under d current political n cultural circumstances, very difficult 2 improve d academic culture of our local public universities
    As MMK always boasted “I’m a doctor n will remove gangrenes b4 they spread” (though he seldom walked d talk)
    D big fat Q now is do we hv d political will power 2 remove gangrenes, at least in UM 2 resuscitate it (forget abt d other local public univ, beyond rescue)

  36. #36 by tuahpekkong on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 11:08 am

    Prior to the introduction of the quota system in the mid-1970s, (it was then still a relatively novel idea) non-Bumis could secure a place in the Eng. Faculty of the UM with a couple of Bs and Cs in their HSC exams. To gain a place in the Medical Faculty, you needed slightly better performance. With the strict implementation of the quota system, large numbers of 2nd and 3rd rate students (all 1st rate students were sent overseas to pursue tertiary courses) were admitted into the UM. A score of C in HSC chemistry or biology was sufficient to earn these students a place in the medical faculty of the UM. These students had special tutorials and there were different passing marks. A mass exodus of non Bumi academic staff followed suit due to a lack of promotion opportunities for them. Standards plunged. Today, we are more concerned with the number of graduates that we can produce yearly rather than upholding the standards. So, it is not surprising that there are graduates, mind you degree holders who can’t perform simple mathematical calculations which I think a good PMR could perform. Of course, according to Dr. Mahathir, not doing all these is racism. So, we should grant a 1st class honours MBBS to someone who has failed all his final years papers and get him to operate on Dr. Mahathir should his heart encounter problems again.

  37. #37 by mauriyaII on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 11:20 am

    When we have leaders such as Mohd.Khaled Nordin who very conveniently asks us not to compare apples and oranges, I wonder what sort of yardstick he prefers to use to gauge the standards of our local universities. Does he not realize that our university standards have dropped because of the apartheid policies practised under the NEP where mediocre students were allowed into universities?

    Standards were further aggravated when under the auspicious of the NEP, the highest standards of recruitment of academic staff were not adhered to. Mediocre academic staff teaching mediocre students do not produce high international standards. Even the present position of our universities are due to the excellent results produced by students who did not enter the universities through the back door.

    STPM is equated with Matriculation so as to enable mediocre students to enter universities. They are then placed into science, engineering, medicine and law studies at the expense of students with excellent results in STPM. Standards are lowered to enable the mediocre ones to get through. The decline in standards have been ongoing for the last two decades where unemployable graduates have been the norm.

    Politics should be totally kept out of the intake of students and academic staff in our universities. Universities should promote excellence by accepting students with excellent results. Only academic staff with excellent credentials, calibre and many research papers to their credit can raise the academic level of our universities.

    Why lament the decline in standards when the government does not see it fit to change and is only happy with the status quo to stay in power. They know that meritocracy which is good for the country is NOT GOOD for them.

  38. #38 by vsp on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 11:28 am

    Malaysia cannot be improved because it would tantamount to racism. Right out from the mouth of the greatest racist Bolehland has ever produced – the Mamakkutty import from Kerala.

  39. #39 by undertaker888 on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 11:47 am

    is there a department in all the local universities called “Arts of Corruptions”?

    Seems like our country is very good in this trade. World class standards.

  40. #40 by k1980 on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 1:30 pm

    When is Universiti Racist Antarabangsa going to be built in Putrajaya? (Dean will be Ibra Ali)

  41. #41 by boh-liao on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 1:41 pm

    Mayb Khaled Nordin meant cannot compare ladyfinger banana with pisang tanduk, Nah!!!!

  42. #42 by Jeffrey on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 7:31 pm

    “We cannot be ‘ranked’ against other universities whose ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different from ours. It is like comparing apples with oranges… We do not want to be obsessive about world rankings” – Higher Education Minister Mohd Khaled Nordin.

    The Minister is right.

    Whether its Times or Shanghai Jiao Tong or QS World, they formulate their world rankings benchmarked their criteria – eg peer review of academics, opinion of Global employers, composition of academic staff and students (foreign vs local) staff student ratio, research citations per head of academic faculty, resources, academic achievements of students etc – against world’s best practices. And the World’s Best Practices are bias in favour of Meritocracy ala Western perspectives. The Global research conversations from which their findings are made are conducted largely in English. As English is the global language, more emphasis may be placed by people evaluating on research publications in English.
    We on the other hand emphasize on the National Language.

    We also emphasize on religion. It is the top on the list of RukuNegara. More importantly our politicians and policy makers emphasize on the socio-economic re-engineering goals of the NEP. This is reflected throughout the education system leading right up to tertiary institutions. Being ranked high by these international bodies is of course desired but not at the price of de-railing our affirmative policy goals. It is our deliberate policy to choose mediocrity over meritocracy by reason of our socio-economic re-engineering imperatives. Which country whose universities have been surveyed have our equivalent of race based NEP? It is not for nothing the standard joke that after South Africa we are the sole remaining apartheid in the world.

    For an “apartheid” nation, then our universities have, in spite of this baggage of nationalism of language and deliberate political priority on affirmative mediocrity, scored very well indeed.

    In fact we should, by our own unique ‘1 Malaysia’s benchmarks be ranked first – amongst countries:-

    • that have such affirmative race based policies abjuring meritocracy for mediocrity;

    • whose students and academic staff in universities can speak several languages, Bahasa, Mandarin Arabic and English and dialects;

    • that religion is prioritized to make university students holistic in moral behaviour and values;

    • creativity in application of knowledge after university training in law – ie proposing a person can self strangulate…

    We may well rank first because we’re the only unique country and there’s no other country in parallel positions of such features for comparisons of their universities with ours.

    Our defence is simple: Times or Shanghai Jiao Tong or QS World are bias in favour of English language, Western values and standards of what’s the best practice. It is due to the Anglo American white global hegemonic influence of standards world wide. (Thats why by their standards their top universities by majority rank high on these lists). We defer to these ranking only if we need for pragmatic reason their multinationals to employ our graduates – otherwise they’re rubbish!

  43. #43 by asdfghjkl on Friday, 10 September 2010 - 10:21 pm

    Following the logic of Jeffery, Kim Il Sung University(North Korea), because of its different ‘environment’ and ‘condition’ should have come first in the world university ranking. It is also important to know that there are a lot of universities of China ranks top 100 and their language of instruction is not English. They also speak dialects, Mandarin and English. There are different ethics in China too with different physical appearance but of course not as distinct as in Malaysia. They adopt ‘Asian values’, There was a time Malaysia was once more advanced than China. Now we are falling behind to Thailand University. Soon Thailand will move beyond Malaysia.

    Although we should not be an obsessive of ranking which move +/- 10 places, the earlier statement that “We cannot be ‘ranked’ against other universities whose ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different from ours” is very
    worrisome. I am not asking that we should be 10 top university in the world. That’s impossible. Furthermore, the ranking can fluctuate within +/- 10. Cant we be top 100 in 10 years time?

    “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change”
    — Charles Darwin

    The world is progressing fast, if we are stagnant or progressing slower, we will be left behind. We need changes. University is a foundation of future of a country. Whether, it is public transportation, medical health, foreign investment, technological transfer and etc.

    Malaysia is rich in natural resources. Other countries which are not that fortunate is still capable to rival beyond Malaysia universities such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland universities. With dwindling natural resources in particular Petroleum, we will need to depend more and more on creative innovation from the university which very good publication is important to lead the way. If not, the future of Malaysia is not bright for our children no matter what races you are. If the boat is sinking , well at least we are trapped ‘economically’ at least for 10 years now as it is acknowledged by the government, if nothing is done, we will sink and our children will suffer whether you are Chinese, Indian or Malay. Would you want your children to suffer? Only those who are rich and also who are in power would escape that. Ask around, how many top politicians actually send their children to be educated in Malaysia universities?

    I wouldnt say it is rubbish as Jeffery as mentioned, there are certain truth on the ranking.

  44. #44 by HJ Angus on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 12:10 am

    “is there a department in all the local universities called “Arts of Corruptions”?”

    In Malaysia, it is learned from parents.
    And during the past 35 odd years, the BN government has encouraged everyone to learn this essential life skill.
    So no need for any university to offer this course – many Malaysians including civil servants are already experts in corruption.

  45. #45 by sheriff singh on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 12:20 am

    World standards are world standards and if this standard is the Anglo-American model then so be it unless there is another viable alternative that is equal to if not exceed this Anglo American Global standard.

    Unless the 1Malaysia standard is equal to or exceed this western model, we will just have to follow this western standard. That’s why we send our top scholars to the top western universities and follow the western standard.

    But having said this, one must note that there is a large number of top 200 universities that do NOT use English as their main medium of instruction although many of their students do speak and write good English. Examples include the many universities from China, Hong Kong, Korea and Japan. There are also universities that teach in German and other European languages, Hebrew and even Thai. All of them made it to the top 200. What about 1Malaysia?

    The need to study religion and moral studies is also good for a person’s overall development but when you are an engineer etc you would need to use mainly your professional skills although at times moral and social considerations will be relevant.

    Higher Education Minister Mohd Khaled Nordin has made his statements about rankings not being too important to him and the Malaysian education scene. But what else can he say of our universities’ drop in rankings? If MU had risen instead of falling in ranking, I am sure he would have sung a different tune. I am sure MU would have boasted about it.

    And if the rankings are not important to the Malaysian government, would we send our top scholars to the top universities? Would we send them instead to say universities ranked around 400-500?

    Let’s just face it. Our universities have fallen in world rankings. Alternatively, we can say other universities have made great strides to overtake us while we continue to wallow in our mediocrity.

  46. #46 by sheriff singh on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 12:24 am

    There might be a post graduate degree course called Master of Arts (Clowning and Corruption) or MACC.

  47. #47 by boh-liao on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 2:09 am

    Khaled Nordin is not happy dat d QS ppl did not understand 1M’sia’s aspirations n rules
    He will remind QS abt our local public universities’ bumiputra status n demand 30% discount/advantage fr QS in 2011 ranking
    Hopefully, with dat, our local public univ will improve significantly in World University Rankings 2011
    Khaled Nordin will also remind QS dat some of our ppl here also use chop sticks
    He will also appeal to potential employers of our local univ grads 2 ignore d recent self-strangulation incidence
    Dat’s just an aberration, one flew over the cuckoo’s nest
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jReNeEHH2lQ

  48. #48 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 7:35 am

    Not all people in Malaysia, let alone the world, share common world view and subscribe to Anglo American Global standard of what is excellence in academic standards.

    (Which is why Samuel P. Huntington has the opportunity to say so much in his “Clash of Civilisation’ that is being studied and reviewed amongst academic circles of top universities (by QS World University rankings)!

    One may note that in our country – even between the Pakatan Rakat’s politicians – there is no common view.

    And it is the DAP’s supremo and not PAS’s Nik Aziz who berates the government about MU’s falling world rankings.

    Just imagine the hypothetical scenario of BN being replaced by PR and supposing in that scenario PAS’s top politicians happen to hold the PM or higher Education Minister’s posts.

    Do we expect that they worry if MU falls further out of the top 300 ranking determined if say preponderantly by the Anglo American Global standard that we here think is universal or global???

    They will more likely ask “if QS World Rankings is so accurate, how come Al-Azhar University is not listed amongst the top?

    And how could the criteria that determine Cambridge and Harvard as top 2 forget to include religious syllabus (whatever religion) as mandatory or sex-segregated campus facilities necessary for moral development of tertiary students to provide them a holistic education and preparedness for the world outside???

  49. #49 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 8:26 am

    Talking about standards of Globalised world do we forget that Muslims constitute more than 25% of world’s population and is fastest growing, increasing by 2.3% annually?

    Seriously is it reasonable to think that by majority they will subscribe to Times or Shanghai Jiao Tong or QS World’s criteria of world rankings?

    How come the top universities by these standards don’t prioritise in their criteria the integration of the intellectual with the spiritual, faith with science, that Al-Azhar University does? Isn’t it the primary function of Education and the Universities to prepare a stock of leading and highly qualified academicians and scientists for the coming generation in all branches of knowledge and experience required for life in its spiritual and material sides??

    How could (from their religious-centric world view) Harvard & Cambridge be the best universities in the world when they don’t emphasize the great Islamic cultural tradition and heritage and strengthen the spiritual ties between Muslims in their curriculum?

    Like it or not Anglo American & Western ‘Global standards’ of best practices whether in Academia or Governance or Laws uphold the principle of secularity – and separation of faith from logic and governance, morals from the law, the private morality from the public morality – which the Muslim world don’t share and even think secularity is a bad word!

    The more radical amongst these reject in toto Anglo American & Western ‘Global standards’ of best practices whether in Academia or Governance or Laws as all being part of the Pax Anglo Americana of global hegemony (from military financial to cultural academic values – the whole works) as evinced by their leveraging their hegemonic powers as victors of World War II to control world bodies from Leaque of Nations to United Nations and using the façade of the latter to take away Palestinian lands and give them to the Jews!

    We say we live in a Globalised world wired together by the Internet and ease of global travel & communication but these have not helped bridged a common shared norms and world view of what is good or bad, right or wrong…and the world remains more divided than ever when the ease of global communication and travel exacerbate these differences.

    The point is the world becoming more globalised is not synonymous with values being globalised – and there’s simply no agreement that even for a simple thing like how to rank a University of its merits, there is no common acceptance world wide of the bench-marks or the values that underpin these benchmarks.

  50. #50 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 8:31 am

    Sorry typo error in last para, let me rephrase – “there’s simply no agreement that even for a simple thing like how to rank a University of its merits, there IS A COMMON acceptance world wide of the bench-marks or the values that underpin these benchmarks”.

  51. #51 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 8:45 am

    What Mohd Khaled Nordin said must be viewed in context what our leaders said since the time of Tun Dr Mahathir – that we’re an Islamic state.

    So back to the central point of our current debate, isn’t it correct that what he said – that our ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different from those ranked by QS World University Rankings 2010 likening it to “comparing apples with oranges” – correct????

    Here I am not even factoring in the other fact that we prioritize the most extensive race based affirmative program as compared to other countries in world!

    So from that perspectives whats the reason as he said the government should be obsessive about world rankings when our We do not want to be obsessive about world rankings by benchmarks that don’t take into account our priorities???

    One has to look at it from that point of view.

    Of course whether we should so prioritize these as against the QS World’s standards is a more basic but nevertheless separate question that we’re not debating here.

  52. #52 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 8:51 am

    Correction: “So from that perspectives whats the reason, as he said, the government should be obsessive about world rankings when that don’t take into account our priorities???”

  53. #53 by Loh on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 9:25 am

    Jeffrey :
    What Mohd Khaled Nordin said must be viewed in context what our leaders said since the time of Tun Dr Mahathir – that we’re an Islamic state.
    So back to the central point of our current debate, isn’t it correct that what he said – that our ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different from those ranked by QS World University Rankings 2010 likening it to “comparing apples with oranges” – correct????
    Here I am not even factoring in the other fact that we prioritize the most extensive race based affirmative program as compared to other countries in world!

    Mohd Khalid Nordin uttered the words “our ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different” to justify or explain why the ranking of MU was not ‘accurately assessed’. Like Boh-Liao said, he should asked for a 30% handicap and move the position 30% upwards to be included among the 200s. Khalid Nordin is till concerned about the ranking and he only wanted crutch-support in the ranking exercise.

    Khalid could have made the point that the value system adopted by the QS world university ranking differs from what the BN or UMNO government adopts. For example corruption is the easiest means to richness and so corruption is accepted as a quality, and institutionalized corruption such as the negotiated tender initiated by Mamakthir would one day be the core subjects in business administration. Besides the world over accepts meritocracy as a way of life but meritocracy is viewed in Malaysia as racism which should be avoided; but UMNO practices racism in the manifesto of the party. So double-standards is a way of life in Malaysia, and this is certainly different from the value system adopted outside Bolehland.

    As Malaysia adopts a different value system from the rest of the world, it certainly is not fair for Malaysia to be rank against others. The minister should just declare that we have the unique value system in the world, and our universities rank top based on our system.

  54. #54 by Loh on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 9:27 am

    Mohd Khalid Nordin uttered the words “our ‘conditions’ and ‘environments’ are different” to justify or explain why the ranking of MU was not ‘accurately assessed’. Like Boh-Liao said, he should asked for a 30% handicap and move the position 30% upwards to be included among the 200s. Khalid Nordin is till concerned about the ranking and he only wanted crutch-support in the ranking exercise.

    Khalid could have made the point that the value system adopted by the QS world university ranking differs from what the BN or UMNO government adopts. For example corruption is the easiest means to richness and so corruption is accepted as a quality, and institutionalized corruption such as the negotiated tender initiated by Mamakthir would one day be the core subjects in business administration. Besides the world over accepts meritocracy as a way of life but meritocracy is viewed in Malaysia as racism which should be avoided; but UMNO practices racism in the manifesto of the party. So double-standards is a way of life in Malaysia, and this is certainly different from the value system adopted outside Bolehland.

    As Malaysia adopts a different value system from the rest of the world, it certainly is not fair for Malaysia to be rank against others. The minister should just declare that we have the unique value system in the world, and our universities rank top based on our system.

  55. #55 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 10:36 am

    ///Khaled Nordin could have made the point that the value system adopted by the QS world university ranking differs from what the BN or UMNO government adopts/// -Loh in #2.

    The trouble is that he cannot use this as defence because if MU has improved by leaps and bounds per QS World University Rankings he would be boasting about how well he has done!

    UMNOputras forfeit the right to plead different values system when selectively they fall back on Anglo American & Western definition of ‘Global standards’ of best practices because one basic reason: achievement as measured by monetary and material values. That’s why the PM talked about NEM measured by Anglo American Global standards of transparency, accountability and fair competition….Khaled has to follow the PM’s standards…

    If it is the graduates of top universities (by the QS world university ranking) who can afford a mansion, a Royce Royce, Lambrogini or Louis Vuitton hand bag and all things conducive to hedonistic lifestyle, then theirs (Anglo/American standard) is (covertly if not overtly) the relevant standard of achievement! Even Arabs do that when they fly out of their Middle Eastern countries!

    One can’t have this – and have an opposite that – and selectively and situationally justify renunciation of Anglo American ‘Global standards’ when one is not measured well and embrace them when one is measured well and benefits!

    When in past they appointed Datuk Rafiah Salim as VC for MU to improve its standards, why what standards if not Anglo American Global standards of Times or QS World???

    PAS’s politicians will frankly have better credentials and less inconsistency than him to reject Anglo American Global standards of Times or QS World because some devout in PAS actually reject material achievement for spiritual and religious advancement as benchmark.

    The difference in life style of Kelantan MB and MBs of ruling party is case in point.

    Therefore I see the rejection of Anglo American Global standards of Times or QS World for world ranking more likely if after regime change PAS runs the dominant show and the more radical and fundamentalist of its officials are appointed to and have their way with the administration.

  56. #56 by boh-liao on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 11:03 am

    MKN shld b bold n demand respects 4 M’sia fr d world bcos M’sia has provided many new real-life stirling benchmark examples 4 academic discourse

    M’sia has offered, for example, d following 4 d academic world 2 study n analyze:
    Affirmative action policies 2 help d majority, based solely on race without any means test
    MMKnomics – d art of beautified corruption & how 2 use NEP 2 enrich selected individuals
    MMKnomics – How an oil-producing n resource rich nation on d path 2 bankruptcy
    MMK politics – d art of unification of executive, judicial & legislative powers
    Our AG’s Chambers n courts hv set many new stirling benchmark trial procedures
    Like, charged but no access 2 evidence n documents 2 prove 1’s innocence
    Of cos, not 2 forget d recent self-strangulation demonstration of loyar Razak
    Plus many more

    M’sia is truly a world leader n pathsetter in providing models 4 academic discourse

  57. #57 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 11:04 am

    The acid test is when the children of our ministers are offered a place in Anglo American Cambridge/Harvard and Al Azhar university, and its an either or scenario, what would be the choice? The choice will be an indication of which side of values stream why should lean and be benchmarked against.

    It is true many students from China, Indonesia and Middle East come here to study – because we’re nearer and cheaper – but to what end?

    They basically hope to obtain a British, American, Australian, French, New Zealand or Canadian degree either entirely in Malaysia or by opting for the 2+1 split degree Credit Transfer Programmes without going as far as these places and incur the expenses there.. reign partner university.

    Hence a high number of international students choose Malaysia for pre-university programmes such as GCE A Levels, South Australian Matriculation (SAM). Western Australian Matriculation (AUSMAT) and Canadian International Matriculation Programme ((IMP) – or otherwise MICPA, MIA if not ACCAUK, ICSA-UK, CIMA-UK, CPA-Australia EM and EC-UK.

    They still look West – not East or Middle Eastern.

    So how to reject Anglo American Global standards of Times or QS World as they relate to tertiary standards – when achievement and progress as principally measured by money, material benefits ala Capitalistic style are benchmarks ???

    As far as corruption to meet these material ends is concerned, then the whole country is a tertiary institution to learn its art, in the highest form, from.

  58. #58 by Jeffrey on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 11:23 am

    ///M’sia is truly a world leader n pathsetter in providing models 4 academic discourse/// – #4 by boh-liao

    Agreed. We should be bround of our own evolved benchmarks. Westerners’ anti racism and anti corruption is hypocritical: they have the laws against, but humans being what they are, they do on the side nonetheless in another form – and we have devised our own original form that we should be justly proud!

    But students from where? Fiji, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Iraq, Lebanon??

  59. #59 by digard on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 11:44 am

    Jeffrey, you are spot on!

    My earlier comment was on what actually transpired.
    Yes, how much would I wish, Khalid Nordin was only serious! I for one have never subscribed to a world dominated by anglo-american standards, values, culture, Coke, McD.
    How I only wished, Khalid Nordin was serious. But he is not. Not at all. I bet whatever I have, had UM be given a double-digit ranking instead of a triple digit one, oh, what would he have boasted! On NEM, Satu-Satu Something, and whatnot.
    That’s actually what brings us, Malaysia, down. The universities have all been hammered by MoHE for the last years on Ranking-Ranking-Ranking. And now we flip-flop because of a failure. But since the word doesn’t exist, all strategic planning from the last years is thrown overboard, overnight, and after Raya all academic staff will instead focus on local and localised values, and all strategic planning be re-written.

    Just pause for a moment and let’s review how the whole mess came about: Stemming from a pure coincidence. When in 2004 (if memory serves right) THES, for the first time, tried to attract readers (and bump up circulation) by offering yet another world university ranking, they had done the mistake of tasking QS with the matter. A mistake, because the methodology was seriously flawed, even contained factual – and worse – calculation errors. Suddenly, out of the blue, UM was ranked 89 globally. Suddenly, everyone awoke from their slumbers, some fruit had fallen into their laps. And, suddenly, we all had to endure the ranking business. Mo(H)E was abuzz with the topic, and searching to prove their mettle (their universities’ mettle) with the public, or better: the electorate. Unfortunately, unbeknown to those in power, the ‘success’ was based on some error. Those in power did not know (and some did not want to hear about the erroneous circumstances), and thought that some extra effort would bring forth a towering institution. It didn’t, because it couldn’t. The more time passed, the more errors were taken out of the equation, and the ranks converged towards reality. Only, the political masters of the universities’ VCs didn’t (want to) listen, and neither (want to) understand. Still hoping for success. It didn’t come. Not even with the appointment of one of the two who are actually carved from VC-material to UM. The rot is too deep, the number of staff to oppose Gauth too high, to actually reform the whole place; at least within a few years.
    Some days ago – so it seems – Khalid Nordin has seen the light (of these facts), and reversed the gear on ranking. Until one day another unexpected fruit falls into our lap.

    That’s what makes me so uneasy: there seems to be no strategic plan, at all. The country looks like waiting for success, waiting. And when it happens, like a win in 4D, oops, there we all go, ‘review’ our strategic plans (or flip-flop them), trying to grab the big win. Until we notice that we can’t; with our local constraints. And then … rinse and repeat; waiting.

  60. #60 by Dr. W on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 2:07 pm

    One flashy statement in the email to Kit catches my eyes: “…but the ranking is disputed…”.

    I believe this is exactly the reason UM has been drawn into this humiliating situation, following decades of denial syndrome within the government, the university and now the students.

    To the student: Peer review appears as the most critical examination in academia. From academic publication to university ranking, we have to live up to the international standard whether you like it or not. When the outcome does not favours us, we work harder and become better but we should never ever plead for mercy (e.g. asking DAP to go easy on the poor ranking) or simply yell foul (e.g. disputed ranking).

    Although self-confidence is important but self-denial is only meant for destruction.

  61. #61 by k1980 on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 2:29 pm

    Over here, PPSMI, UPSR and PMR have all been abolished by Mr Moo. S0 World University Rankings will also be abolished….to be replaced by Moo University Rankings— No1 is UM, No2 is usm, and so on

  62. #62 by boh-liao on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 3:52 pm

    MOHE did try 2 move d local public univ ahead by hving different categories of univ
    Research univ n Apex univ – but sayang lah, duit masuk, quality no got yet, still tinkering

  63. #63 by boh-liao on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 4:09 pm

    While we flip-flop here, NUS has appointed 2 prominent personalities as Rectors of its first two residential colleges at NUS University Town or UTown

    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1080196/1/.html

    http://www.zaobao.com.sg/sp/sp100910_008.shtml

  64. #64 by boh-liao on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 4:10 pm

    While we flip-flop here, NUS has appointed 2 prominent personalities as Rectors of its first two residential colleges at NUS University Town or UTown
    http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1080196/1/.html

  65. #65 by boh-liao on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 4:11 pm

  66. #66 by dagen on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 4:25 pm

    In malaysia we have one problem. A mighty big one of course. And that problem is dr mamak. He is in fact the root of all problems really. With dr mamak, malaysia became boleh. With him, malays were taught to take short cuts. Incidentally, dr mamak senior (I meant his father) made him learn the hard and practical way. When he because pm dr mamak made malays (particularly umnoputras) believe in short cuts, not merit. And in order the cut the route to success even shorter he decided to weed out competition coming from fellow malaysians esp those who are non malays. He decided to limit their chances to progress with all sorts of rules and policies; and made entry into universities extra difficult. And the same policies were actually implemented in other fields as well, particularly commerce. Only malays (actually umnoputras) could get special permits and licenses to operate certain lucrative businesses. Better still. Umnoputras always negotiated directly with the gobermen without going through open tender. They need not show merit. No point recounting all these these really. We all know them well. The issue then became one of entitlement and special privilege which is completely detached from ability and merit. What umno did not expect was the opening up of the world. The suddenness of globalisation caught them off-footed. Their affirmative action could work as long as external factors are minimal. But in order to grow umno has no choice but to embrace globalisation; and with external factors in play the special privileges policies began to fail. Do they care? Of course they dont. Look. Education is a serious issue and look at cintanegara’s response here in this thread! Didnt one smart alec (reported in the star papers or somewhere) proudly commented that MU’s score actually went up by 0.01 point (i.e. from 4.87 to 4.88). Standing still and moving in minute paces in this fast moving world means regressing.

  67. #67 by raven77 on Saturday, 11 September 2010 - 10:24 pm

    UM…essentially is a problem of deadwood…you can bring in Rafiah, throw her out and bring Ghauth…heck you can even bring in Najib or Rosmah as VC….but nothing will change as the mafia in the UM especially in its Engineering and Medical Facultries will make certain the VC is kicked off first….

    UM is a dead cow…bury it and build a new one…otherwise just burn it to the ground and get completely new staff….until then…the slide will continue…

    Dont throw good money after bad….UM was a gone case long long time ago….the government should stop investing in this high school….

  68. #68 by boh-liao on Sunday, 12 September 2010 - 7:36 pm

    Ha, ha, folks, don’t despair
    D Times Higher Education’s (THE’s) annual World University Rankings – d real one, partnered with Thomson Reuters rather than with QS – will be released on 16 Sep (funny, Hari Malaysia & Harry LeeKY’s birthday)
    http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/
    Akan datang, sabar kawan – another round of apple, orange, banana, what hv U

  69. #69 by hangtuahreturn on Monday, 13 September 2010 - 2:02 am

    So, where is Wawasan Open University ranked?

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