Introduction
In Malaysia, the traditional roles of the business sector in higher education include providing scholarships and educational loans to deserving students, providing space for students doing their internships (practical work), advising universities on the curriculum, and eventually recruiting the better graduates. For example, the authors remember that in the early sixties, when higher education was somewhat elitist, major multinational oil and plantation companies and certain banks were giving out scholarships to qualified Malaysians to pursue university degrees in the engineering and accountancy fields. Upon completion of their studies, they would join the payroll of their sponsors.
Commercial banks continue to give out loans, with appropriate collateral, for educational purposes, either on fixed terms or as overdrafts to parents wishing to send their children for local or overseas higher education. Many commercial establishments welcome university undergraduates to gain practical experience in their organizations. For example, Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) undergraduates find ready hosts among banks and other commercial entities with whom they would spend several weeks to do their practical work for academic credit. UUM has even set up a special unit (upgraded to a center recently) to handle these university-industry linkages.
When Malaysian universities draw up new curricula, they would often include members of the private sector to sit on boards of studies to ensure the relevance to industry of the contents of these new academic programmes. Areas of particular interest to the business sector include accountancy, business studies, engineering and technology-based curricula. Obviously, the private sector has special interest in what the universities teach their students in these areas of specialization because businesses are the major employers of the graduates; and getting value for their money means that the new graduates must possess the relevant training that meets their needs. After corporatization of Malaysian public universities in 1997, many corporate figures have been appointed to sit as 'directors' on the Management Boards of these universities, which are in the business of higher education.
Tertiary
Tertiary education in the public universities is heavily subsidised by the government. Applicants to public universities must have completed the matriculation program or have an STPM grade. Excellence in these examinations does not guarantee a place in a public university. The selection criteria are largely opaque as no strictly enforced defined guidelines exists.
The following is a list of the public universities in Malaysia open to all Malaysians, listed according to the date of their formation:
University of Malaya (UM)
Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM)
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM)
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM)
International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM)
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS)
Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI)
The following Universities are restricted:
Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) - Bumiputra only.
Racial quotas, a highly politicised and controversial issue in Malaysia, exist for university admission. However, in 2002 the government announced a reduction of reliance on racial quotas, instead leaning more towards meritocracy
Yet 2004, 128 students who obtained 5As in the STPM (the best possible grade for university application) were denied their first choice of course which was medicine. The only thing they had in common was that they were non-Malay. All students managed to successfully gain offers to private institutions but some did not pursue a medical education due to lack of funds.
In 2004, the government created a new ministry called the Ministry of Higher Education to oversee tertiary education. The new minister, Dr. Shafie Salleh, stated at the United Malays National Organisation 2004 general assembly, "As the Higher Education Minister, I will ensure the quota of Malay students' entry into universities is always higher". [4]
Some, such as prominent opposition figure Lim Guan Eng, have alleged that this quote may be taken out of context, stating that Shafie was instead guaranteeing that the number of Bumiputra students admitted to public universities would increase every year. [5] He has also stated that "Education is looked at from a racial perspective and not on the basis of educational needs."
Prior to 2004, all lecturers in public tertiary institutions were required to have some post-graduate award as a requisite qualification. In October of 2004, this requirement was removed and the Higher Education Ministry announced that industry professionals who added value to a course could apply for lecturing positions directly to universities even if they did not have postgraduate qualifications. To head off possible allegations that the universities faced a shortage of lecturers, Deputy Higher Education Minister Datuk Fu Ah Kiow said "This is not because we are facing a shortage of lecturers, but because this move will add value to our courses and enhance the name of our universities...Let’s say Bill Gates and Steven Spielberg, both well known and outstanding in their fields, want to be teaching professors. Of course, we would be more than happy to take them in." He went on to offer architecture as an example whereby well-known architects recognized for their talents did not have a masters degree.
Students also have the choice of attending private institutions of higher learning. Many of these institutions offer courses in cooperation with a foreign institute or university. Some of them are branch campuses of these foreign institutions.
Many private colleges offer programmes whereby the student does part of his degree course here and part of it in the other institution. The nature of these programs is somewhat diverse and ranges from the full "twinning" program where all credits and transcripts are transferable and admission is automatic to programs where the local institution offers an "associate degree" which is accepted at the discretion of the partnering university. In the latter case, acceptance of transcripts and credits is at the discretion of the partner.
Some foreign universities and colleges have also set up branch campuses in Malaysia:
Monash University, Australia.
The University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
SAE Institute, Australia
The net outflow of academics from Malaysia led to a "brain gain" scheme by then (1995) Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamed. The scheme set a target of attracting 5,000 talents annually. In 2004, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Datuk Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis in a parliamentary reply stated that the scheme attracted 94 scientists (24 Malaysians) in pharmacology, medicine, semi-conductor technology and engineering from abroad between 1995 and 2000. At the time of his reply, only one was remaining in Malaysia.
Postgraduate Programs
Postgraduate degrees such as the Master of Business Administration (MBA) and the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) are becoming popular and are offered by both the public universities and the private colleges.
Vocational Programs
Besides the university degrees, students also have the option of continuing their education in professional courses such as the courses offered by the ICSA (Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators) etc.
