Midweek Thoughts - On UM (100 this year)

When I wrote theletter to Malaysiakini in 2001 about the Dewan Tunku Chansellor fire, I thought that, that was it – henceforth I would not want to know anything about the University of Malaya nor want to comment on it.

I was wrong. Pride in one’s alma mater doesn’t disappear just like that.

So I continued to eagerly look forward to any news or stories about the Varsity. And sometimes even “debated” on them with family and friends.

But it has been one painful experience. The good news and stories were few and far between.

And so when Datuk Noordin Abdul Razak, President of UM Alumni Association, was quoted in the cover story of the Stars education supplement last weekend as having said -

“However, when it comes to ties with their alma mater, UM undergraduates are lacking. “I feel this is our weakness. Those who study in foreign universities seem to have stronger feelings and value the experience more.”

his statement riled me.

The truth is, our individual pride at being a UM alumus notwithstanding, the university has become a “stranger” to a lot of us, among the 100,000 or so graduates that have passed through its door. It just isn’t the same anymore. In recent times the whole complexion of the U has changed - from academic and teaching standards to academic freedom to students’s rights to varsity administration to campus life and so on.

Can we then be blamed for feeling detached from our alma mater?

But it does not have to remain so forever, UM’s present situation, that is. All that is needed is a change in mindset.

UM alumnus Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam who was interviewed for the cover story mentioned above and Dr. Lee Kam Hing (who also wrote an accompaning story in the same Education supplement) made some points to this end, changing mindset.

“Navaratnam does not see much cause for joy in UM’s position. “If NUS can be at number 18, why can’t UM be much higher up the ladder?” [he was referring to UM’s 89th. position in the recent The World University Rankings conducted by The Times Higher Educational Supplement (THES) in the United Kingdom.]

He believes that it’s time the Government recognises the best and that the emphasis should not be on equity (among local universities) but quality. “There must be a few, like UM, which stand out.”

Dr. Lee, in turn, has this to say –

“Certainly, UM can look back with some pride that it has over the last one hundred years contributed to the nation’s political and economic development. The early commitment to a free and open enquiry, a willingness to engage with people of diverse views and ideas, and a determination to strive for excellence are enduring strengths it inherited. But in an increasingly globalised and competitive world, the challenge for UM is to uphold and safeguard these values.”