<p>Shamefully, the best university in my country, the University of Malaya (UM), has proven itself to be nothing more than an exercise in tooting its own horn. Lately, the Times (in the UK) released its Higher Education Supplement for 2005. In 2004, UM was ranked 89th in the world. A few months ago, the university (on taxpayer money!) took out a full-page ad in a newspaper about its “alumni of great fame” and boasted of its 89th ranking, challenging the reader to see where UM would be ranked this year.</p>
<p>Some other people, however, were a tad more realistic; one official in the higher education ministry declared the rankings were clearly inaccurate, while the Malaysian Youth Council decided the rankings were biased in favour of the west, causing the university to lose out.</p>
<p>Do any other universities in the world have such petty men running them? Are any others, particularly among the top 200 in the world, run by such buffoons? I don’t know, but this scandal makes me ashamed to be Malaysian.</p>
<p>I sometimes feel ashamed to be Malaysian; more for its cultural/religious beliefs. Like, how inter-racial couples are better much ostracized. (Except for those “cool Western-Asian clubbing couples” Friend’s words, not mine) Anyway, I never thought Malaysia was much of a prize, though, yes, it is relatively cheaper than a LOT of other places and it’s warm and Malaysian food rocks. And you can twin/transfer from its college/universities to US, UK, Australia, Canada…</p>
<p>But still, they really shouldn’t count the chicks before the damn eggs hatch.</p>
<p>(As an aside Izzy, you’re probably a tad more insulated about the government policies than I am, so naturally I’m more embarassed about the government because of the distinction it makes between Bumiputras and non-Bumiputras. For instance, for university admission, Bumiputras are allowed to “matriculate” and take some relatively easy tests, while non-Bumiputras are forced into sitting for the STPM, which is a standardised test based on the British GCE ‘A’ Levels, some of the hardest exams in the world.)</p>
<p>Anyway, true, Malaysia isn’t rather unique or special (except from the food perspective and the fact that it’s rather cheap - compare the price of, say, a Big Mac here and a Big Mac in the US) but the fact is I grew up here, so I’m more attached to it. (Although some other Malaysians have criticised me for not being as “patriotic” as I ought to be.)</p>
<p>And I don’t think is just a matter of counting the chickens before they hatch. The fact is that the vice-chancellor was so apathetic about it, while the education ministry was in denial. That’s pretty crazy, if you ask me, and is symptomatic of a larger problem in Malaysia: people’s emphasis on status. Seriously, the vice-chancellor, for example, has to be called Professor Datuk Dr Hashim Yaakob instead of simply Hashim Yaakob.</p>
<p>Malaysian culture is nice now and then, but sometimes in can really frustrate you, especially when it comes to status and religion. Anyway, I’m rambling a lot now, aren’t I, so I guess I’d better stop before it’s too late. ;)</p>
<p>Where are you thinkin’ of applying to/for? You seem to have a real grasp of M’sia culture/scene. <em>sigh</em> I only wish I could have that sense about ANY country.</p>
<p>Yes, I’ve heard about the double standards for Bumi’s and non-Bumi’s. I find it insulting. But then again, it could somewhat be likened to the USA’s Affirmative Action, right?</p>
<p>there’s food all day long. even at 3 am in the morning. all kinds of food; spicy, bland, hot, cold, carbohidrate-laden, protein-laden, we, dry, sweet, sour, etc. best of all, you can get all of this from ONE restaurant. and they’re MANY of these restauratns around.</p>
<p>AA’s for disadvantaged minorities who never had much of a chance, not for a group that’s the majority and has been given so many chances but chooses to take the easy way out by selling them off for a quick buck.</p>
<p>Hey all i am from singapore and it seems that the press, the government and the universities here has been exalting over the times university rankings for NUS and NTU. Yes, its something worth celebrating, but not in such unadulterated, and uninformed fashion. The rankings should absolutely be taken with the slightest pinch of salt cos from year to year, they just change the criteria, and their weightage each time, so that the rankings change here and there. Readers wouldn’t want the rankings to look the same every year, do they? One thing I need to protest: how can UPenn rank so lowly? (Of course, I assume that the educated editors at The Times know the difference between Penn State and the University of Pennsylvnia, though I still have my reservations over what ‘Pennsylvania University’ could be.)</p>
<p>Of course, as a Singaporean who’ve seen meritocracy (as opposed to preferential treatment to certain races) work, I firmly believe in it. By ability, not by birthright. (This is not some pro-government rhetoric)</p>
<p>Izzy:
I’m planning to study economics/political science, hopefully in the US. I definitely do not want to study in the public universities here.</p>
<p>I think the Bumiputra policies here go beyond Affirmative Action - it practically borders on apartheid, I’d say. (No offense meant.) After all, Bumiputras receive 5 to 10% discounts on cars and real estate, even if they’re buying a new limousine or mansion. The civil service is almost 100% Malay, and the government doesn’t seem bothered. (See the [Bumiputra[/url</a>] article for more.)</p>
<p>That isn’t to say that the Malays/Bumiputras aren’t disadvantaged economically. They are. But the key to helping them is not to give them a fish but teach them how to fish, which the government is not doing. There are thousands of unemployed Malay graduates twiddling their thumbs, all because they don’t have the appropriate skills (60% of them either have too poor English skills to be hired, or have skills employers don’t require).</p>
<p>I like the speech Lee Kuan Yew (yes, he might be a bit racist, but you can’t deny the truth of his speech) gave in our Parliament 40 years ago:
</p>
<p>Anyway, that was way off-topic, so I’d better mention something relevant: the university of Malaya has now erected seven giant billboards congratulating itself. (See [url=<a href=“http://limkitsiang.blogspot.com/]this”>http://limkitsiang.blogspot.com/]this</a> blog for photos](<a href=“http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumiputra]Bumiputra[/url”>Bumiputera (Malaysia) - Wikipedia).) It’s one thing for NUS and NTU (where my dad used to teach) to congratulate themselves; they’re in the top 50, for Pete’s sake! It may be a bit petty, but at least they’ve earned it. UM dropped 80 places, and they’re cheering because they’re in the top 200 universities.</p>
<p>I saw the pictures. It’s hilarious. It’s all to save face, after dropping so low but… gah.</p>
<p>You’re right, I’m very insulated from the politics of Malaysia. I find myself more interested in the CONCRETE, the real, not an abstraction like politics. (Then again, it could be put down to not being patriotic enough.) :)</p>
<p>I’m hardly support many policies made by the Malaysian government - in fact, I have posted my fair share of “down with these racist policies”, but NOT on collegeconfidential, but on some other malaysian student board. </p>
<p>The thing is, I think that it’s hardly fair of you to discuss Malaysian politics on this board, with the majority of its participants from United States, and would have no clue to Malaysian politics whatsoever. And so you make your accusations/ comments and everyone would agree with you because all they know about Malaysia would be wide-known generalizations - I mean, as an example, the other participants here are living in Romania and Singapore (no offense). This entire thread is like some orgy of agreeing and nodding. </p>
<p>collegeconfidential is really really lovely in helping internationals like us for info on U.S. college admissions and life in the US in general, but that should be it. </p>
<p>Go take your strong opinions and vindications to a Malaysian student board, whose participants are probably more well-versed in Malaysian politics, enough so that they could pin-point the flaws in your argument. </p>
<p>Unless you are used to people agreeing with you all the time.</p>
<p>Well, WHY did you start the thread in the first place? And of all places, why here? To unfairly bash without any other informed opinion to keep you in check? </p>
<p>I have seen your posts, I’ve been on CC for quite a bit now, and all I have to say to you is that, don’t be so … bitter. Or if you DO want to be bitter, again, I say, go take your opinions to a Malaysian board, where there ARE people who could argue with you.</p>
<p>Bash? I was expecting some comparison from other people to see how other universities reacted to the rankings. (And as you can see, at least one Singaporean noted that his/her local Us aren’t immune to ranking-craziness either.) And besides, what other side of the dispute is there? The only defense offered was that “in absolute terms we improved”, which was debunked by an Oxford grad in a site I linked to. I wasn’t bashing. I was stating facts.</p>
<p>Anyway, this is not really good, since we’re way off-topic. Better take it to PM. ;)</p>
<p>There is no other defense for this whole ranking-incident. (Well perhaps, “universities can’t be ranked”) But you got me wrong. I DO agree with you on some points, but I definitely don’t agree with your tone or your approach to this subject. Why you are bring this up in a forum which is almost totally frequented by residents of US, whatmore, a forum intending to help students in their COLLEGE admission process … well, I get the impression that you are doing that talking-behind-someone’s-back thing. Being sneaky. Underhand debate. </p>
<p>Go indulge in some healthy debate with another malaysian, write an article to thecicak or something</p>
<p>anyway don’t be too harsh on john. at least he posted in “International Students” and not “College Admissions”. and don’t forget we also have “High School Life” and the cafe for posts totally nothing to do with college. though i think he should have gone to a malaysian board too. (maybe he did)</p>
<p>Thank you upandover, i thought i was the only one who saw the fact that posting it up here just wasn’t…riight. U, me we both see that Malaysia has issues but this guy…he has bigger ones.</p>
gah.</p>
and don’t forget we also have “High School Life” and the cafe for posts totally nothing to do with college. though i think he should have gone to a malaysian board too. (maybe he did)</p>