The country’s premier institution of higher education, Universiti Malaya, has dropped two places to 41 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 – just like Universiti Teknologi Malaysia at 82.

Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, however, took a tumble from 51 to be placed 58, with Universiti Putra Malaysia improving its ranking from 90 to 77.

The continued drop of ranking of Malaysian Universities in Asia is part of the larger disease of Malaysia becoming the “sick man of South-East Asia” – resulting in 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.

This is why the New Economic Model (NEM) crafted by a panel of local and foreign experts have sound the warning: “We must act now before our position deteriorates any further”. Read the rest of this entry »