PUTRAJAYA: Under fire for his claim that Malaysian education is world class, Education Minister II Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh continues to defend his view, citing new examples to back his statement.
Besides his earlier examples of international student enrolment and university rankings, which were criticised by the opposition, Idris also referred to Malaysia’s achievements in an international study on scientific academics, Islamic banking and the co-curricular field to prove that Malaysian education is world class.
In a statement posted on his Facebook account, Idris said four academics from public universities were named in Thompson Reuters world’s most influential scientific minds.
Two of the professors are from Universiti Sains Malaysia’s School of Chemical Engineering — Prof Dr Abdul Latif Ahmad and Prof Dr Bassim H Hameed — while one is from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and another from Universiti Malaya.
“These professors achieved this amazing distinction because their published research ranked among the top 1% most cited in their respective fields in the given year of publication. Analysts from Thomson Reuters have studied citation data over 11 years to come up with the listing.
“Having met them last year, they told me that they were ‘just doing their jobs’ for the betterment of the academic fraternity and society generally.
“In my view, these professors are world class,” he said, adding that he has no doubt at all that many of the country’s lecturers and researchers are of world-class quality.
On Islamic banking, Idris said of the 422 publications on the matter between 2009 and 2014, 178 or 41% originated from Malaysia, of which 48 publications, or more than 10%, were produced by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
He said the renowned university has been at the forefront of Islamic banking and finance development in Malaysia and the world for decades, and its lecturers continue to be highly sought after as advisers to Islamic banks and institutions locally and internationally, and are considered authorities on Islamic banking and finance matters.
“I have no doubt that when it comes to Islamic banking, we are world class,” he said.
In terms of co-curriculum, Idris cited Malaysian undergraduates’ achievements in debating, photography and robotic competitions in which they shone and outperformed their counterparts from renowned global universities.
He said IIUM law student Ameera Natasha Moore was crowned best debater at the Cambridge Women’s Intervarsity debating tournament, outranking debaters from Cambridge, Oxford and other institutions.
In the 2015 World Universities Debating Championship hosted by Malaysia, the IIUM debating team was placed 10th in the world, outranking traditional debate powerhouses like the United States’ Harvard University and Australia’s Sydney University.
At the 19th FIRA Robo World Cup held in Beijing, local polytechnic students took three gold, one silver and one bronze medal with their robotic creations while at the 2014 Sony World Photography Awards, a community college lecturer was the winner of the split-second open competition category.
“The examples cited above are just a few of the many amazing successes our students and lecturers have achieved at the international level in co-curricular activities.
“I raise them because I am proud of these achievements and believe that these examples act as a reminder of the world-class talent that we possess in Malaysia. We will continue to support the development of our talent.”
Acknowledging that there is still room for improvement in areas, including graduate employability, English proficiency and critical thinking skills, which are among the priorities of the Education Ministry, Idris said the ministry is constantly talking to stakeholders to garner feedback.
“Context is key. Ultimately, we need to be realistic about our strengths and weaknesses.
“Having been the Education Minister II for almost two years now, I am proud of what my predecessors have done, what the Education Ministry continues to do, and what our public and private higher education institutions have achieved.
“I hope that based on what I have said above, you have reason to feel proud of what our country has achieved. The journey certainly doesn’t end here. There’s still a long way to go. We want to be world class in all areas.”
Idris had come under fire from opposition MPs for claiming Malaysia’s education system is on par with those of developed nations, including the United Kingdom, Germany and Australia.
He had said Malaysia is now the ninth most popular destination for foreign students in various fields, including engineering, agriculture, and information and communication technology. — The Malaysian Insider
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on February 26, 2015.