PM: I Am Worried

Malaysian universities have crashed out of the Top 200 in the world, based on the latest Times Higher Education Supplement rankings table. And hear, hear, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is disappointed.

"Three years ago, we had Universiti Sains Malaysia among the first 100 and another two universities in the top 200. Now, none of the Malaysian universities are in the top 200," Abdullah said, according to the state news agency Bernama.

"People will ask - if (foreign) students come to Malaysia, is it because it is cheap? If it is cheap, we must still have quality. We cannot accept cheap education but of low quality," he said.

It's great that the Prime Minister is beginning to see through the invisible clothing wrapped around the entire administration.

Let's take the next step, and hopefully a more drastic one at that, will you be willing to "hear the truth, however unpleasant"? And if so, will you be willing to take all necessary steps, leaving no stones unturned, in our attempt to bring back respectability to our tertiary institutions? Or will it be more of the same, where "student intake in these universities would not be based on race but the enrolment must reflect the country's ethnic diversity."

Oh, and I forgot to nitpick. The concerned Prime Minister didn't get get his facts right. 3 years ago, Universiti Malaya (UM) was in the Top 100, not Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) - even then was on faulty calculations. In addition, it was only 1 other university in the Top 200, USM at 111, and not 2 others. It's a little sad that Pak Lah didn't get some of the facts right, but well, the message was there.