Posted on by Kit

Mustapha – international marketing officer or Higher Education Minister?

Higher Education Minister, Datuk Mustapha Mohamad seems to have lost his proper focus and responsibility, regarding his job more as international marketing officer for Malaysian universities instead of ensuring that Malaysian universities win international recognition as world-class institutions.

Mustapha, on a week-long visit to China to market Malaysian universities, said in Shanghai yesterday that he wants to see at least 15,000 Chinese students coming to Malaysia in three years’ time — more than double the present number.

He said the trend now was for more Chinese students to enrol in the Malaysian public and private universities for post-graduate programmes.

He also announced that his Ministry “will be going around China to market Malaysia as an education hub”.

The Higher Education Ministry has set up an education office in Beijing to promote Malaysia as a market for foreign students. A fifth overseas office besides Jakarta, Dubai, Ho Chi Minh City and Beijing would be set up in Africa “due to the promising market in the continent”.

There is something very wrong with the spectacle of the Higher Education Minister leading a delegation to China to market Malaysian universities to Chinese students at a time when the latest world’s Top 200 Universities Rankings released ten days ago showed a continuing “free fall” of Malaysian universities.

For the first time, there is not a single university in the 2007 Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)-Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings for Top 200 Universities.

Both Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and Universiti Malaya (UM) fell out of the Top 200 Universities ranking, with UKM plunging from 185th slot last year to 309th while University of Malaya plunged from 89th in 2004 to 169th in 2005, 192nd in 2006 to 246th in 2007. Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), which was ranked as the only “outstanding” five-star university in a recent government survey, fell to 307th spot from 277 last year.

The latest release of the THES-QS 2007 Top University Rankings from No. 201-400 available on the Net has also confirmed that Malaysia has lost out to Thailand for better university rankings for three consecutive years, as Chulalongkorn University of Thailand is ranked No. 233 in 2007, 161 in 2006 and 121 in 2005 (compared to University of Malaya’s No. 246 in 2007, 192 in 2006 and 169 in 2005).

The second Thai Top University, Mahidol University which is ranked No. 284, is also better placed than Malaysia’s second Top University — USM which is ranked No. 307.

Are these rankings for the past three years proof of permanent inferiority of Malaysian universities to Thai universities, particularly for the Top international rankings?

This however is not the only dismal result for Malaysian universities in the THES-QS 2007 ranking. Also for the first time, there is not a single Malaysian university in the separate listing of Top 100 Universities for five subject areas — Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Engineering and Information Technology.

Last year Malaysia was placed in four of the 500 slots in the five Top 100 Universities for the five subjects – University of Malaya ranked 49 in Social Sciences and 95 in Natural Sciences, UKM No. 62 in Natural Sciences and USM at No. 96 for Life Sciences and Biomedicine.

This year, Malaysia was completely excluded in all the five listings of Top 100 Universities for the five categories.

The Higher Education Ministry has planned some 60 promotion programmes overseas this year to attract international students.

Should Mustapha be spearheading the compaign to market universities to the international market or should he be giving top priority to ensure Malaysian universities establish themselves as educational centres of excellence recognized in World’s Top Universities rankings?

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60 Replies to “Mustapha – international marketing officer or Higher Education Minister?”

  1. “Mustapha, on a week-long visit to China to market Malaysian universities, said in Shanghai yesterday that he wants to see at least 15,000 Chinese students coming to Malaysia in three years’ time – more than double the present number.”

    In 3 years time there would be only University of Oblivion for the 15,000 Chinese students coming to Malaysia, lets hope all of them are female.

  3. “…Higher Education Minister leading a delegation to China to market Malaysian universities to Chinese students…”

    He might as well go to Switzerland to market Malaysian watches made in Petaling Street.

  4. mustapha’s job as a salesman will be made easier since one leading already allocated Rm100mil to woo / sponsor Indon students to come here. And while they are here, they can get PR and then vote for the ever so good govt who has taken the trouble to look into their welfare while ignoring the pleas of the locals. Yea, it is easier to tame and buy off foreigners.

  6. Singapore started marketing to Chinese students more than a decade ago and gives scholarships to top students and up to today, they are able only to get second stringers to come to NUS and NTU.

    To get Chinese students to come to Malaysia and pay for it, is just tapping on desperation.

    Most Chinese students who come here, after only a few months, decides they are going to leave for US UK and Australia ASAP.

    This is just Mustapha domi

  8. Haiya, if that fell don’t bla-bla here, bla-bla there, where got chance to TOUR china?? To reach that figure, he must go all over china to promote. Wait until he submit his claims…… then the shocker will come.

  10. Never mind. We are ranked from No. 1 to 10 in Bahasa Malaysia.

    >>Also for the first time, there is not a single Malaysian university in the separate listing of Top 100 Universities for five subject areas – Natural Sciences, Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities; Life Sciences and Biomedicine; and Engineering and Information Technology.

    In order to market, we need to have an excellent product. All businessmen, including those who did not complete their primary 6 and later became the most successful ones, know how to run the business . If we are just bullsh’ou’ting around, then we will be known as liars.

    I think what the minister has to do is to set up a panel to study the problem. It cannot be the domestic ‘experts’ and some ones from the reputable universities (may be the top 50?) and who are familiar with the boleh system should carry out the task. The panel can suggest the minister on what to do. I think there are some Malaysians overseas who can do it.

  12. How to woo China let alone the world?….the rankings show for itself how the quality of education has deteriorated in the public universities. If he’s wooing them to the public instituitions, I think there won’t be any problem. Look at the private instituitions, they are successful because it’s not part of the governmet. The same can’t be said to the public universities. I bet he doesn’t have the confidence to send his children to the public universities as well.

  13. /// kanthanboy Says:
    He might as well go to Switzerland to market Malaysian watches made in Petaling Street. ///

    kanthanboy – why not? There might be a market for such watches. For the real stuff, you have to pay 100 euros or more. For the fakes from Malaysia, you only have to pay less than RM10.

    ;)

  15. I told you this fellow is money faced. He is only encouraging research on inventions that can be commercialize. If you are a university researcher and you submit a proposal to study say neurotransmitters in human schizophrenia, you will not get funding because this is too esoteric and cannot be commercialized. His idea of university research is like that of commercial R & D departments. Of course with his half past six professors, he will get no results.

  16. Gee, let me see, he is trying to persuade students from China to come to Malaysian universities (including PUBLIC universities) to pursue their courses while Malaysian people of Chinese and Indian descent have difficulties getting places there despite excellent examination results.

    DOES ANYBODY ELSE SEE SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS?

  17. Just wonder how is he going to answer when the chinese ask him the benefits of studying in this boleh/bodohland universities that can even sqeezed into the top 200 world ranking. What standard is he taliking about???
    May be he wants to lure more chinese dolls to the country.

  18. By the way, apologies for using the wrong thread as there is no right thread for this, but anyone here read The Star’s report on Sleepy Head Badawi saying that only HE has the power to dissolve Parliament?

    Here I was thinking that the Agong has the power to dissolve Parliament on the advice of the Prime Minister. Yeah, I know semantics but there is an important constitutional thing here, ya know. Technically speaking, the King can always refuse to act on the PM’s advice (don’t think it has happened yet) but in theory he can. So for Badawi to say that he (Badawi) has the power to dissolve Parliament seems a bit lese majesty perhaps?

  19. With BN and mediocre leaders, education will not be the only area we are losing out. Already we have lost all competitiveness in economics to China and Vietnam.

    Since Malaysians of Chinese and Indians are already deprived of places in public universities and have opted for private colleges or gone overseas due to reasons already known to us all, the vacuum now have to be filled with foreigners. Foreigners do not know the NEP policies so ignorance is bliss. As far as they are concerned, they have universities to attend. Since these are not Malaysians the government do not have to address the NEP anymore!!! As far as they are concerned, the non bumiputera Malaysian can go to hell. They are just substituted with foreigners. Before long Malaysia will comprise 65% bumi and 35% foreigners.

  20. Firstly, our labour forces are fill with foreign worker. The good one have left the country or couldn’t enter into any U due to the NEP.
    Now, the govt want to fill the local U with foreign student??
    Next we will have Bangla, Indon, Mymmar, Viet, Indies, Filipino, and the list goes on……… thanks to NEP.

  21. Mustapha should quit travelling around and wasting tax payers money ….stay home…and hand out brooms to all his VCs……if he doesnt have at least a tenth of Toyo’s guts…..then queitly leave…..

  22. It is no secret, that many of these Chinese students, who have arrived on our Malaysian soil as legally registered students, enrolled into public and private unis, are either moonlighting or have gone MIA, to work as GROs or prostitute or even contract mistresses. Some are even doubling up as agents for money laundering activities, for their “clients” in China. Does that make our newly designated International Marketing Officer a Contractor Pimp?

  23. YB Lim,

    He is the International Marketing Officer for Malaysia’s stupidity. If our education is that good, people would flock in into Malaysia, like us Malaysian going to Australia and UK. Why should the Chinese come into Malaysia? Fill up the Bumi quota – or rather the pribumi quota?

    Two years ago, my niece, passing her form 6, and completed her National Service found her application for local Uni rejected. She is a bumiputera.. of course a Christian Bumi. There are so many deserving people who want to have local education and yet not accepted. Someone wanted to connect me to him for an appeal. What nonsense is that?

  24. To knock our insensible minister head is very sensible, to blanketly presume Chinese female students will end up in vice activities is very arrogant & sarcastic indeed.

    We must heed the Taiwanese experience. In 1960s Taiwanese used to flock to our country to make some extra bucks, just a matter of a decade or two, the tide turned completely. Started from 1980s, there had been incidents Malaysians being caught by Taiwan authorities due to vice activities & overstaying.

    Will not be long the history will repeat itself. Of course we have to be more patient because China is much much bigger than Taiwan. Just be a little bit more patient.

  25. “Firstly, our labour forces are fill with foreign worker. The good one have left the country or couldn’t enter into any U due to the NEP.
    Now, the govt want to fill the local U with foreign student??
    Next we will have Bangla, Indon, Mymmar, Viet, Indies, Filipino, and the list goes on……… thanks to NEP.”

    No wonder we are called Bodohland because our stupid govt can’t get bloody priorities right. So now NEP’s priorities is to flood our country with aliens like Holland?

  26. First things first.

    Chinese students from China won’t come to no-class universities in malaysia. That won’t be their first, second or even third choice!

    The message to Mustapha is: “Put the universities on the world map first”. World-class universities will sell themselves. Why should Chinese students come to malaysia and be taught by “Professors” who can’t even speak proper ENglish let alone be taught by such no-class professors!

  27. Mustapha + the BN jokers, thinks that the rest of the world will be deceit by them, just like they short changed us Malaysians.

    Wonder why these BN guys don’t know Malu. Aiyah! Just stay home + beruk around lah. Stop wasting our money. People built the great wall that last a few thousand years, our 4.5 million building collaspe in 2 years.

  29. Mustapha should make his way to Ghana and Nigeria to promote Malaysia to students there. Not to forget Pakistan and Iran if he has not already done so. It is different having these students on some foregin exchange programs, and having them as fee paying students who intend to graduate and see their degrees recognized so they could get the jobs they want.

  30. I don’t understand why so many Malaysians want to continue their education to universities especially universities in Malaysia!

    You can succeed without a university education. It is more productive to acquire job skills through a vocational course. Are we not creating a nation of white collar workers?

    Has there been any studies done on why the university population in Malaysia keeps on rising in geometric proportions if you will? Could it be a case of disguised unemployment?

  32. “I hope DAP can come to Setiawnagsa or Titiwangsa or else i would rather not to vote since is between BN and PAS” chgchksg128,

    This is what you must never do!

    The GE is not just about voting for the party of your choice but voting to deny the party not of your choice from winning the GE! In you case it means casting your vote for PAS!

  33. “I hope DAP can come to Setiawnagsa or Titiwangsa or else i would rather not to vote since is between BN and PAS” -chgchksg128

    Please see the bigger picture bro.

    Are you are saying is if it is a straight fight between BN & PAS in Setiawangsa, you are going to sit home and sulk? And then complain for the next 5 years?

    Whats wrong with PAS?? I m chinese and I will not blink an eye to vote for PAS if its between PAS and BN. I have been to Kelantan numerous times and I have never seen PAS making life difficult for the non-muslims there.

  40. Mustapha has a serious problem on his hands!

    Many Malaysians don’t even touch the local universities with a 100-foot pole or step onto its corridors. When such universities have lost their credibility totally, no one who is in the know would waste 4 prime years of their lives ‘studying’ meagre mediocrities under nonentities for measly degrees that are so trashy!

    Get my point! It’s a huge con-game to get foreigners especially Chinese to part with their Yuan! I hope those Chinese are not tricked and conned by Mustapha! Malaysia needs to be honest both on the international stage and locally – the days of con-jobs are over. Either you deliver value or you close shop!

  42. “For the real stuff, you have to pay 100 euros or more. For the fakes from Malaysia, you only have to pay less than RM10.” The WrathOfGrapes
    ________________________________________________________

    Not necessary cheap for fake stuff. Look at the fake building which falls flat on the ground, it cost $4.5 millions. We also have plenty of “Independent” stuff which are fake. such as the INDEPENDENT ACA, Election Commission, 3-men panel, 3-ministers panel, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, law for the protection of whistler blowers. I can name 10 pages on all the fake stuff under this Boleh government. Watch out for the coming RCI on Lingam tape, it can be fake too.

  43. The man is not as silly as some may think – he is, after all, a man with certificates from the University of Melbourne, among others. He does seem subdued though, and I really would like to know why is he doing what he does at the moment – like many I fail to grasp the idea behind going for a higher international student score, when we can improve results etc by chipping away at the demographical-based approach universities in Malaysia use to accept students in. Would it not, in the long run, benefit the country as well? I can understand that he too, is trembling due to the fact that things look dire in the local university sector, but he has to forego international plans to review the local sector as soon as possible.

    http://portal.psz.utm.my/psz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=149&Itemid=191

    I would like to know though, is the Higher Education Minister under the power of the Education Minister? Or is he from a totally independent section of the Executive?

  44. “The man is not as silly as some may think – he is, after all, a man with certificates from the University of Melbourne..”

    That applies to all the other Ministers too – UMNO, MCA and the rest. You have to give it to them. But being BN Ministers I suppose require them to undergo a “brain freeze” of sorts for them to be able to function as Ministers.

  45. Undergrad2,

    Maybe you are too long and far away from your beloved homeland, you seem like a bit off line from homeland reality. Please come back more often and stay longer to have clearer picture of your beloved homeland.

    Generally Malaysia only has 2 categories of workers ie white/blue collar. There is a great amount of difference in the working condition, environment, remuneration, outfits, social status & so on between these 2 occupations. Not so conducive working environment, condition, dirty outfits are tolerable if reward is lucrative, as with lucrative monetary income you can always fix up your social status such as owning an expensive house in posh area, driving flashy car…, this is what happens in advance countries such as Australia, a plumber is staying next to an accountant in an expensive surburb.

    In this land of boleh, with world class labour policy, undiscretionary import thousands to millions of foreign cheap labor, coupled with illegal influx, our blue collar employment market is in the state of pathetic & disarray, blue collar workers are the front runners of globalisation, they are in the hotbed of merciless world competition, unfortunately they have been defeated with dismal stagnant and low wages. Whereas the white collar still breathe comfortably under the umbralla of protectionism, foreign accountants, lawyers, architect are still disallowed to come in big number to practice freely. Those who opt for vacational training most likely will end up in this pathetic employment market. Which Chinese parents dare to bet theirs’ children in this market, by hook by crook to their last cent they will slot their offsprings to universities, an almost must for white collar employment. For the Malays, the government with NEP, Malay Agenda,equal playing field too must put as may as possible Malays into the ivory towers.

  46. Why do we increase the students from China but not the local Chinese students? We have some of the better students from local, whereas those from China are the 3rd class (because the first class already selected to go to America, Europe or Japan).

    Chinese (from China) are smarter than us. Before we can make money out of them, I am sure they already screw us up. Look at those at KLIA who cheated on us (usual episode: I lost my wallet and I have no money to fly back to China. Can you please lend me some money?)

    Before we attract people from outside, stop sending students outside because it is wasting money and unnecessary. If you are not confident in our local U, then who want to risk themselves in coming here? The local U are good in educating the students (for research, it is a different story, however)

  47. Singapore started wooing Chinese students more than a decade ago. They even give full scholarships to secondary and young gifted students. But in the end, the best still leave.

    Chinese students coming to Malaysia is like tourism business – a transit/transient business – a stopover to better things elsewhere or its opportunistic to something else rather than real education and best practices. The pie is really big in China and competition is intense so Malaysia will get a fair share by pure statistical normality. Don’t be fooled by anything else about it.

    Can they hit 15,000? Sure but temporarily at best…

  48. the Star, 20 Nov 2007: USM deputy vice-chancellor (Research and Innovation) Datuk Prof Muhammad Idiris Saleh said the university targeted to produce more high quality research next year as the ranking, under the Times Higher Education Supplement-Quacquarelli Symonds (THES-QS) World University Ranking, was highly based on research outputs.

    “We are looking at producing more tangible research outputs, including more citations,” he said.

    Wunderbar! Would the Datuk Prof care to inform us his publication and citation record? Shall we Google his list of publications to find out the impact factor of the journals that he published in and also the number of citations of his publications? Leadership by example.

  50. Datuk Professor Muhammad Idiris Saleh: Also, kindly insert the impact factor of each journal given in your publication list and the number of citations of each of your publication.

    This sort of information should be a mandatory KPI (key performance index) in each and every USM staff’s cv and website. Barulah THES ranking boleh naik. Not the number of useless gold medals won at self-paying, money-wasting, self-orgasm, and money-sucking international invention exhibitions in Europe and other places.

    Be more proactive and come out with concrete and performance-based criteria or KPI, rather than the whisy washy, fuzzy, superficial non-statement like “looking at producing more tangible research outputs, including more citations”. Alamak, how to be an effective and innovative DVC (R&I)? Should be better than our students, who always want tuition, past year questions, and model answers.

  51. One of the fundamental “Ps” of marketing is “product” – in this case product being our tertiary education system. With none of our public universities ranked in the world’s top 200 universities, surely our higher education image in China cannot be too good? So what the hell was he marketing? Marketing for all those private colleges and universities? Did he ask himself if the Chinese might be laughing at him that if he cannot even do his own job properly to bring up the standard of the universities directly under his charge, what credible marketing pitch can he make for those private universities and colleges? And if I were one of those private universities, I would probably be better off doing the marketing myself under the brand name of my foreign university parent rather than let a failed Higher Education Minister try to market my university with the baggage of poorly ranked public universities hanging around his neck.

  52. Want to make Malaysia as Education hub?

    ESSENTIAL STEP TO TAKE IS ABOLISH NEP, KETUANAN MELAYU

    A GOOD UNIVERSITY CAN BE BUILT THROUGH MERITOCRACY …….
    ……..NEP AUGUS WELL FOR MEDIOCRITY – ………….

    ….PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS FROM CHINA MUST KNOW THIS….. THIS IS TANAH MELAYU (MALAY LAND)……. KETUANAN MELAYU- PROTECTED WITH KERISES……….

  53. Mustapha, on a week-long visit to China to market Malaysian universities, said in Shanghai yesterday that he wants to see at least 15,000 Chinese students coming to Malaysia— He thinks that the Chinese are fools who are willing to pay to become unemployed/unemployable grads

  54. Mustapha is promoting Malaysia as the land where students can learn from the Education Minister, Hishammuddin, how to put up a show of unsheathing and kissing a keris in public, year after year, and, at the same time, convincing people that his act is harmless (nonaggressive) and meant to manifest his universal love of all mankind. His greatest hypothesis is that this greatest show on earth, repeated annually, will eventually desensitise people over their unreasonable fear of the keris as a weapon.

    More students from China should come here to learn from the Education Minister so that by the time they graduate, they would have learnt the fine and gentle art of unsheathing and kissing their traditional ‘dao’ 刀 and do it in front of the minister during the graduation ceremonies to show their love to the minister.

  55. I like what pulau sibu said: “Why do we increase the students from China but not the local Chinese students?”

    Well maybe local Chinese students pay less money that the students from China.

    However, one thing still bugs me. Remember the incidents where some China ladies were questioned by the police who thought they were illegals? This is something we cannot repeat, if we were to be successful in tapping into the Chinese market.

    Thinking aloud tonight.

  56. Bigjoe said about Singapore courting China students. Just wanted to add that they court ASEAN students too, in very huge numbers.

    Malaysian students goes there in big numbers but most are non-bumi students. Some are bumi students as well and they are all top calibre Malaysian student.

    I guess the some of the brain-drain benefits Singapore who welcomes foreigners to settle down there.

  57. I have spoken to many foreign students from University of Malaya.Some doing their degrees,some Masters and some even PHDs.Prior to their studies they could not speak English at all.All that they did was to attend a 6 months English course and Promto they are in UM!How they comprehend their courses[with their limited English knowledge] is anyone’s guess.Eventually they will all graduate.The locals who could not get in UM can easily out perform these foreigners in terms of academic results.Is this what the government wants?To educate foreigners rather than its own citizens?No wonder the standard has dropped so badly.

    In another case, a Chinese student told me that she regretted coming to Malaysia to learn English.She said the Indian teacher teaches with an Indian slang.The Chinese teacher teaches with a Chinese slang and the Malay teacher teaches with a Malay slang.She will be going to UK soon.

  58. Dear YB, I’ve come across an advertisement by the higher education ministry in the monthly Malaysia Airlines magazine , Going Places. Looks like they are promoting foreigners studying in Malaysia extensively. In the advertisement, they promoted their website http://www.mohe.gov.my . But the website is hardly to be understood by foreigners since it is in Bahasa Malaysia. They are wasting money doing advertisements promoting the website, but the website could’t deliver any information to any foreigners. What a shame for the Malaysian goverment doing business marketing. In the advertisement which is in the flight magazine, it is stated that Malaysia’s education centers are internationally-recognized programs, in my point of view, there are very little of the programs are internationally recognized, but Malaysia’s education institution are doing a lot of twinning programs with overseas universities. Malaysia is just cheating, by claiming to others its internationally recognized. Twinning..and more twinning programs, how could be succeed by this?

  60. “I hope DAP can come to Setiawnagsa or Titiwangsa or else i would rather not to vote since is between BN and PAS” chgchksg128,

    This is what you must never do!

    The GE is not just about voting for the party of your choice but voting to deny the party not of your choice from winning the GE! In you case it means casting your vote for PAS!

    Voting for PAS is nonsense….I can not support party that against my believe….
    and the course of DAp is weak is ..they has too less effort to lure malay to follow their ideology..malaysia for malaysian….or malaysia for malay??I hope Mr. Lim Kit Siang can response of this

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