No child left behind

Plans are underway to train more early childhood educators in line with the government’s objective of making quality education a reality.

THE moulding of a child’s character is an important aspect of her development and it starts from a very early stage. With parents spending more time at work these days, the reliance on early childcare and education (ECCE) centres has become more than necessary.

Sadly, the majority of the early childcare and education practitioners in the country — such as providers, teachers and caregivers — are either less than qualified or not well-trained.

According to child psychologist and early childhood education advocate Datuk Dr Chiam Heng Keng, all childcare providers in the country are currently required to undergo the basic childcare course (KAKK) in order to obtain the ECCE certificates. But that is not enough to increase the level of professionalism.

“With only two out of 10 child caregivers having the ECCE certificates, it is hard to increase the level of professionalism in this sector,” says Dr Chiam, adding that diploma and degree holders of pre-school practitioners in the private sector stand at the dismal numbers of 1,200 and 500 respectively.

Only teachers in the government-run Kemas and Perpaduan pre-schools are required to attain a Bachelor‘s degree in early childhood education.

The government is realising this fast and through the National Key Economic Area (NKEA), it has identified early child care and education as one of its entry point projects (EPPs) under education.

“To ramp up the quality of early childhood education, the main agenda lies in scaling up of the ECCE centres, especially those in the private sector, and raising the standards in the ECCE training centres,” says Dr Chiam.

NKEA is an initiative of the government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) to raise the country’s revenue through public-private partnership.

Under the NKEA, seven key enablers are presented to address the major bottlenecks in the scaling-up of ECCE centres, one of which is the setting up of the ECCE council last year.

Acting as a body to support and increase the professionalism of the private ECCE sector, the organisational set up of the council consists of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), Education Ministry (MOE) and the Social Welfare Department (JKM).

“When you talk about professionalism, it is actually about the governance of the ECCE system to look into the quality of the practitioners and the training they receive.

“Eventually, we are aiming for the benchmark as has been set by other professional governing bodies such as the Bar Council,” says Dr Chiam, who is the pro-tem member of the council.

The first call of the council is to propose for all ECCE practitioners to have the minimum qualification of a diploma in early childhood education.

“With better qualifications, these practitioners are able to command respect and better salaries, thus contributing to the gross national income,” says Dr Chiam.

Meanwhile, existing ECCE practitioners who do not meet the minimum qualifications will be sent for in-service training.

MQA will set the guidelines and monitor the quality of the training programmes run at the teacher training institutes, besides several public and private tertiary institutions.

Championing quality ECCE is among the advocacy work carried out by the council.

“In a way, parents must be prepared to pay for quality early education for their children,” she adds.

“It is necessary to raise the awareness on quality ECCE to parents, teachers as well as the ECCE operators,’’ says Dr Chiam.

Crucial years

Citing the results from several studies, she explains that the importance of quality ECCE must not be dismissed because the first five years are the most crucial development period for children.

“It is important for children to feel secure and have their needs attended to.

“Childcare operators must realise that it is impossible to meet the needs of all children if a child caregiver has too many children to tend to,” says Dr Chiam.

“Furthermore, the development gap of children grows wider as they become older. Those who did not have a good grounding in pre-school may not progress along with their peers when in primary school, resulting in drop-out cases,” she adds.

According to her, this is the very reason that developed countries are investing heavily on early childhood education to save on the cost resulting from the consequences of a high drop-out rate such as substance abuse and juvenile crime.

On another note, Dr Chiam reveals that the council is working towards developing a Child Development Index, a useful indicator for the development milestones in children.

Besides establishing the ECCE council, the other enablers in the NKEA ECCE ramp-up include financial assistance to parents through the sliding-scale voucher scheme.

Asked why some parents who could not afford private ECCE did not send their children to government-run pre-schools, Dr Chiam replied that the number of these pre-schools is still too limited to meet the needs of all children.

“Accessibility is a very important feature in ECCE, it is most convenient for parents if they can send their children to ECCE centres in their neighbourhood,” she says.

Another enabler in the NKEA ECCE ramp-up is to partner with property developers and the Housing and Local Government Ministry to lease land for the ECCE centres in housing areas.

“The ECCE council is also providing support and consultancy to corporate companies interested in setting up childcare centres in the workplace,” says Dr Chiam.

National Association of Early Childhood Care and Education Malaysia president Datin Radziah Mohd Daud welcomes the proposal by the ECCE council to set the minimum qualification of ECCE practitioner at the diploma level.

“It is a resounding yes, yes, yes to the call to push for a higher qualification for ECCE practitioners!

“With proper training, ECCE teachers are better equipped with the knowledge and skills to handle children. For instance, ECCE teachers must be familiar with the development milestones of children,” says Datin Radziah.

Parents who feel strongly about quality ECCE also give nods of approval to calls to increase the professionalism of the ECCE sector.

“I was often asked why I transferred my daughter to another pre-school despite the higher fees and logistics problems. I replied that education is important in the early development of a child to mould their learning habits,” says television personality Daphne Iking who has a three-year-old daughter in pre-school.

Iking says she chose a pre-school which teaches according to the child’s learning abilities.

“I feel that it is highly important for the ECCE teachers to have at least a diploma and experience in handling children,” she says.

More Industry Maestros for INTI Education Group

More of Malaysia’s most experienced corporate figures have been recruited by the INTI Education Group to build up the dream team it began developing earlier this year to transform it to a formidable world-class provider of higher education both in Malaysia and the region.

Leading the Group’s domestic and international sales as well as marketing teams will now be Mr Thomas Wong, a marketing professional with over two decades of experience driving operational, sales, branding and marketing programmes for the insurance, retail and FMCG industries.

As the Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, INTI Education Group, Wong will lead the Group’s domestic and international sales and marketing teams to reach out to students from across the region who are seeking world-class education at a fraction of the price right here in Malaysia. He will also lend his experience to spearhead the group’s brand building strategy and initiatives.

Wong was previously the Chief Marketing Officer at Prudential Assurance Malaysia Berhad and prior to that held general management positions in renowned multinational FMCG companies, Unilever and DKSH Berhad.

Also joining the INTI Education Group as Senior Vice President, Group Human Resource is Ms. Nik Hasniza Nik Ibrahim, from her former position as Senior Advisor, Human Capital Group at Watson Wyatt (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd.

She will be offering the Group her blend of experience and expertise in managing strategies, systems and policies on Human Resource (HR) and talent management as well as business development and project management areas. Complementing her consulting experience, Nik was Head of RHB Banking Group’s Group Human Resource and had prior to that held various positions within Mesiniaga and its group of companies.

Ms Bismillah binti Kader also joins the Group as Senior Vice President, Government Relations at INTI Education Group, bringing with her decades of experience in the higher education sector. Bismillah studied and worked in the UK for over 30 years where she taught at Birmingham University, Aston University’s Business School and in Further Education colleges in the UK. She has served as the Inspector of Education for the Further Education Funding Council (England) – the first Malaysian to be appointed as a full-time Government inspector of colleges. Prior to this appointment, she was the Chief Executive Officer of Internexia Ltd, a British based company jointly owned by a consortium of UK colleges.

INTI Education Group, which became part of the Laureate International Universities network last year, has undergone significant changes in recent months. CEO of Laureate Malaysia, Mr Graham Doxey, who is also the Deputy CEO of INTI Education Group said that in addition to investing substantially in its facilities, programme and course development, capacity building and IT infrastructure, the Group has embarked on an aggressive recruitment drive to attract the best talents to join the team.

“We have a dynamic blue-print for growth, and we aim to put Malaysia on the regional education map through our emphasis on career-focused education, 21st century quality and internationalism. The INTI Education Group has strong tactical plans in place, we look forward to setting new benchmarks in the industry, and our new team members will undoubtedly have a positive impact on all that we do,” said Doxey.

The INTI Education Group is part of the world’s largest private higher education network, which has a global footprint that covers 20 countries.

Muhyiddin On First Official Visit To London

LONDON, Jan 9 (Bernama) -- Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin will make an official visit to the United Kingdom, his first as the Deputy Prime Minister, the Education Ministry said in a statement.

It said that the visit, from Jan 9-14, was at the invitation of Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls, and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Lord Peter Mandelson.

Both leaders invited Muhyiddin, who is the Malaysian Education Minister, to participate and deliver a keynote address at the Learning and Technology World Forum, here.

The forum, from Jan 11-13, will take place at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and is expected to be attended by 50 education ministers as well as educators from 70 countries.

During the forum, world education leaders will, among others, deliberate how technology can be utilised to improve the quality of education as well as the access to it.

Discussions will centre on the main theme, namely "Re-imagining Education", the statement said.

During the visit, Muhyiddin would explore opportunities to enhance cooperation in the field of education between both countries, including in terms of training for Malaysian teachers and education officers.

Muhyiddin would also study education transformation and innovation among United Kingdom's education institutes, and visit a community and specialist school here, the Sunbury Manor School, which had successfully developed a virtual learning environment, it said.

The statement said Muhyiddin's visit was also aimed at seeking continuous improvement of Malaysia's education system, strengthening education leadership and expanding the use of latest technologies to enhance education quality.

Muhyiddin is also expected to meet Malaysian community and students in London and brief them on the latest issues back home.

Muhyiddin's programmes here also include attending a meeting between the Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) and potential investors here.

He will also visit the Malaysian Auditorium at the Oxford Centre of Islamic Studies where he is scheduled to deliver a ceramah on "Islam and Critical Issues in Multi-Religious Malaysia".

The statement said the visit would enhance the existing cooperation in the field of education and more importantly, enhance the already cordial relations between both countries.

Nazri against single stream school system

KUALA LUMPUR (Dec 29, 2009): Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz says he is against the proposal for single stream school system as "we cannot force other (non-Malay) races to sacrifice their characteristics and become Malays (Malaynised)".

What is more, he said, the 1Malaysia concept allows the non-Malays to use and preserve their languages.

"What we want is a united people and country, not forcing all races to become Malays (Malaynised).

"Chinese and Tamil primary schools can continue to to exist, as long as these schools teach Bahasa Malaysia as it is the national language with which (Malaysians of) various races communicate and interact with one another to promote unity."

Nazri, who is currently overseas, told Sin Chew Daily that Chinese and Tamil schools are not meant for only the Chinese and Indians respectively, the Malays can also enter these schools.

Malay parents should encourage their children to study in Chinese schools to learn an additional language, he said.

"To acquire another language, be it Chinese, Tamil, Arabic, Japanese etc is to gain an advantage.

"I am now in Chengdu, China, and because I don't speak Mandarin I feel I am at a disadvantage.

"We should regard language as a subject and there are benefits to gain from learning additional languages. Education should not be racialised."

On writer/poet Eddin Khoo's remark that he missed the chance to learn Chinese because his father, historian Prof Emeritus Tan Sri Khoo Kay Kim who raised the ire of many with his single stream school remark recently, was too patriotic, Nazri said such thinking be discarded.

Nazri said the government cannot compel all the races to learn only Bahasa Malaysia, forcing the non-Malays to give up their own languages.

"Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country where the various races enjoy the right to learn their own languages. Multi-culture and multi-lingual are the strong points of Malaysia, something which cannot be denied," he added.

Terrorism effects on education sector

Lahore, Dec 23: During the year 2009, terrorism overshadowed all the sectors especially education which was the worst hit by militancy.

Hundreds of schools were blown up in Fata and the NWFP regions while most horrible incident was twin suicide attacks on the International Islamic University, Islamabad, which claimed lives of six innocent people, including three female students, in October.

The tragic incident spread a wave of panic and subsequently educational institutions, including schools, colleges and universities, had to face closure across the country for over one week. It also led to a massive exercise regarding implementation of maximum security arrangements at educational institutions and a controversy also surfaced when private schools demanded the government ensure security for institutions in private sector.

The deteriorating law and order situation also caused cancellation of various education-related events which, otherwise, were happening on a regular basis.

Nonetheless, the situation also gave birth to some innovative ideas of teaching and learning. A number of private schools introduced e-learning software in a bid to cover the academic loss of students in case the schools had to be closed down unexpectedly over security issues.

Another unfortunate aspect of the whole episode was collection of extra charges by some elite private schools in the name of security. The stakeholders who had been raising concerns over the absence of government control over affairs of the privately educational institutions were exploited yet again.

A number of incidents related to prank calls by students were also reported, highlighting the psychological impact of the prevailing situation.

Like mainstream education, the reforms in Deeni Madaris (religious seminaries) remained a challenge for the government as it did not make concrete efforts to bring religious schools at par with mainstream educational institutions.

The new National Education Policy, which otherwise attracted strong criticism, also asked the Interior Ministry to establish a regulatory authority for religious seminaries with to reform them, providing them better facilities and modernising the syllabus so that their students could compete with others in the job market.

In Punjab, people have been waiting for a body supposed to regulate and streamline the affairs of private educational institutions of the province. The Punjab government made tall claims of evolving a regulatory body for private schools besides amending the Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) Ordinance, 1984, but nothing practical had been witnessed so far despite the passage of almost one year when Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif had formed a special 'high power' committee in this connection. There is a common feeling that since elite private schools are owned by families of politicians, the government does not want to 'hurt' the few bigwigs at the cost of the poor.

As far as the new National Education Policy is concerned, it's most important part is that the allocation for education would be seven per cent of thenational GDP by 2015. However, meagre allocation for this important sector as seen in previous years has been worrying educationists who believe that it should not be merely a statement this time.

Another important announcement in the said policy was that grades XI and XII will not be part of the college education as intermediate level education would be merged into the school education. This particular announcement too invited strong reservations from the stakeholders, especially teachers, who term the move a conspiracy against the country's education system.

The year 2009 witnessed a lot of initiatives by the Punjab government in the field of education, however, there were some issues which remained unattended. The teachers' training programme for college teachers could not be launched despite the unfortunate fact that allocations in this connection had lapsed in the previous budget.

The decision regarding conversion of existing government schools of Lahore district into English medium schools by April 2010 is another important move which has raised concerns among the stakeholders. They are of the view that without capacity building of teachers, the move can prove quite dangerous. They say that the government should realise the ground realities before making a final decision.

Nonetheless, introduction of four-year BA/BSc (Hons) programme in public sector colleges of the country remained a challenge to the Punjab government too. Though the provincial government launched this programme in some selected colleges, it was done once the admission process was almost complete owing to which criticism welcomed the government on this front as well.

Similarly, the Punjab government had to face strong criticism for its decision to establish a veterinary university in Bahawalpur as the Pakistan Veterinary Medical Council (PVMC), highlighting the lack of qualified faculty, deteriorating standard of veterinary and animal husbandry education and lack of practical facilities in existing institutions, questioned the establishment of the new university. The announcement regarding establishment of a veterinary university in Bahawalpur was made by Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif in November this year.

The much-discussed possible merger of the Provincial Institute of Teachers Education (PITE) into the Directorate of Staff Development (DSD) finally materialised in November. It was believed that owing to overlapping of functions, the human resource and finances were being wasted. Similarly, the Science Education Centre (SEC) has been merged into the DSD while amended functions of integrated set up of DSD were also notified.

Some initiatives which undoubtedly invited appreciation from the stakeholders were the Punjab government's decision regarding fee waiver for students of the government schools appearing in matriculation examinations and setting up of IT labs in more than 4,000 schools across the province. The technology-based initiative is being seen as an effort to bridge the 'digital divide' between the private and public schools.

Similarly, the award of hefty prizes to top position-holders in matriculation, intermediate and BA/BSc examinations continued to be the hallmark of the Punjab government while the exchange of delegations, comprising position-holders of different provinces, also continued this year. Like last year, a delegation of toppers of Punjab, including two from other provinces as well, will also be visiting foreign universities in the coming year.

In the year 2009, one of the oldest and biggest libraries of the country the Punjab Public Library (PPL) Lahore, established in 1884, also celebrated its 125th anniversary celebrations. The library has approximately 450,000 books including dozens of rare manuscripts while those looking after affairs of the library have been demanding maximum funds for preservation of rare manuscripts and much-needed expansion of the library.

The Government College University (GCU) also made the headlines during this year when 31 members of university's Computer Science Department, including its chairman, teaching and non-teaching staff, presented their resignations to the vice-chancellor in protest against the alleged undue interference of the registrar's office in March 2009.

Similarly, the Punjab University (PU) also remained focus of attention owing to its 'students-politics' and a number of violent incidents were reported from the university.

Fearing the brain-drain of HEC-funded Pakistani scholars, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) evolved a comprehensive strategy in 2009 to prosecute against the scholars who refused to return after the completion of their PhD programmes during the year 2009. The commission has vowed that integrated efforts will continue to improve the monitoring and vigilance of the foreign scholars. It also warned that the name of the absconding scholars would be posted on the HEC website.

Another important issue which remained a subject of heated debate among the academic circles was the delay in issuance of UK visas to Pakistani students. Subsequently, various universities instructed their non-PhD faculty members to get admissions to the universities of China, Germany, Malaysia, Russia, Sweden and other countries to save time and money.

OIC should think about setting up secular education institutes; schools, vocation schools, colleges and universities for all the people around the wor

OIC should think about setting up secular education institutes; schools, vocation schools, colleges and universities for all the people around the world like what the Christians had done.

Just read this story in Malaysiakini- – -

Never in his wildest dreams did Khor Chun Hock think that he will achieve anything in his life, looking at the circumstances he was in prior to 1994.

He joined the La Salle Learning Centre in Penang, where he stayed and studied at the St Joseph’s home.



He can only thank the volunteers who spent countless hours grooming the students to endure the harsh life outside.

“The social skills taught in the learning centre helped me a lot when I went out looking for work,” said Khor.

la salle school 231209 schoolThe centre provided him a place to pick up skills and build his self confidence and moulded him into a better person.

There are many youngsters who face obstacles in moving forward just like Khor due to learning difficulties and a poor family.

The current education system does not favour the disadvantaged children, according to Bro John D’Cruz of La Salle Brothers who founded this learning centre in 1984.

“It focuses on subjects and knowledge, whereas I focus on basic skills like reading and writing,” said Bro John, who was roped in by the late Father Lucien Catel to help the children at the St Joseph’s Home.

la salle school 231209 classroomThe impact of La Salle brothers is immeasurable. They have touched millions of lives during their 157 years of existence in Malaysia.

The legacy of the La Salle brothers in Malaysia started in March 1852 when the brothership completed a three-month voyage and harboured in Singapore.

Six Brothers went on to take charge of St Joseph’s Institution, Singapore and St Xavier’s Institution in Penang. They have never looked back since.

Selfless servce is their ethos, and it is well reflected in the manifestation of their deeds. Products of La Salle institutions grace the upper reaches of the Malaysian socio-political life.

For the others, the life skills taught by the brothers are being to put to good use to be upright citizens and earn a decent living in the blue collar industry.

Unyielding gratitude

Another proud product of this institution who found the methodology very beneficial is Sylvester Kumar, 31, who works for a major telecommunications firm.

“I started schooling only at the age of 12. I had to catch up with my classmates by learning my alphabets, reading and writing at the learning center,” said Kumar.

He was full of praise for the volunteers who committed themselves to guiding the students to improve themselves.

If not for them and Bro John, Kumar said he would not be where he is now, and his gratitude to them is unyielding.

Melvin Anantha Dawson, a classmate of Sylvester, also echoed Sylvester’s view of the volunteers.

“The volunteers really put in great effort to teach us, not only the skills, but about relationships as well. We learnt to interact with the adults,” said Melvin.

la salle school 231209 exco“The volunteers who were mostly elderly people were very friendly and approachable. They gave us the confidence to face the world.”

Self-reliance was also stressed on the students when Bro John started the Facilitation Training Programme in 1996.

“Training them on how to facilitate is like teaching them how to fish, instead of giving them a fish,” said Bro John.

“These facilitators will then go out on their own and start Learning Centres, and later on, they will then in turn train others.”

Thus far, Bro John and the volunteers have trained 54 facilitators, and there are 16 learning centres in the country, including Singapore.

In this way, said Bro John, the La Sallian family is ever growing – many people are also now part of the La Sallian family.

In June this year, with the retirement of the last La Salle brother principal, the Roman Catholic teaching order came to an end.

But the legacy of the order, founded by St John Baptiste de La Salle, will nevertheless be perpetuated by the proud products of the institutions of the La Salle brothers.

DEVELOPING ICT IN EDUCATION POLICIES AND MASTER PLANS: MALAYSIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OPEN SOURCE LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM IN SCHOOLS

In today’s ultra –competitive environment, the success of any country would largely depend upon its ability to adopt and adapt confidently to increasing demanding and challenging global scenario. No government or organization is shielded from the challenges and forces of globalization and competition.These challenges may have compelled countries to part take in education reforms. Building a knowledge
– based economy, where knowledge, creativity and innovation play an important role in generating and sustaining economic growth, is a key objective in Malaysia.
The Strategic ICT Roadmap for Malaysia was mooted by the National IT Council established in the 6th Malaysia Plan (1990 -1995) and Malaysia’s National ICT Agenda (NITC) formulated in the 7th Malaysian Plan ( 1996-2000). Fundamental to the transformation of the country from p-economy to keconomy and realized Malaysia’s Vision 2020 policy of becoming a fully developed nation by the year 2020. The MOE together with leading industry players have form smart partnerships to accelerate the
use of ICT in schools. Amongst steps taken to ensure the management and enhance the integration of ICT initiatives into education targets, agencies like Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) was established. MAMPU provides consultation services to ensure the structure, system, work procedures and implementation of ICT development are in line with
efforts to improve the government’s delivery system.

In 16 July 2004 the Malaysian Government endorsed Malaysian Administrative Modernization and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU) Public Sector Open Source Software (OSS) Master Plan. In the Master Plan’s Phase I: Laying the Foundation, four (4) government agencies were selected to participate in the Malaysia Public Sector OSS Initiative, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) was one of the
selected pilot agencies. This paper provides a brief outline of the a pilot and enhancement of the LMS project, deployment approaches and challenges faced in its implementation.

INTRODUCTION
„Information Communications Technologies‟ (here with a particular emphasis on „information‟ dimension) will require that governments reassess preconditions : regulations (direct or indirect),levels of democracy, idea formulation and other aspects that will develop the process of knowledge and information exchange (1) UNESCO defines the term „Information Communications Technologies‟(ICT) as:
The system of technologies, tools, and devices that are used to transmit, process, store, create,display, share or exchange information by electronic means (3)
This broad definitions encompasses a wide array of technologies such as computers and its peripherals, video, radio, television, compact disc (CD), DVD, telephone (mobile and fixed line),personal digital assistants (PDA), digital cameras, satellite systems, network hardware and software as well as equipments associated with these technologies, such as video conferencing,emails, web logs (blogs) and social network (such as Facebook, Friendsters, My Space and Twitters)

BACKGROUND
ICT in Malaysia - Major Policies Development Malaysia‟s Vision 2020 policy was formulated in 1991 to ensure the transformation of Malaysia into becoming a fully developed nation in her own mould by the year 2020. The vision calls for the nation to achieve a self sufficient industrial, Malaysian centric economy. In her quest to
achieve the objectives of Vision 2020, Malaysia identified information and communications technology (ICT) as one of the key foundations for its projected transition from its production – based economy to a knowledge – based economy by 2020. ICTs are crucial enabler in a knowledge – based economy because it facilitate the acquisition,utilization and dissemination of knowledge towards enhancing the economic and social values of society. To spearhead the move towards achieving the Vision 2020, Malaysia embarked upon the launching of its Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) in 1996. Modeled to be a world-class hub for development and nurturing of the Nation's ICT industry, the MSC provides first-world knowledge and infrastructure, at developing-nation costs.

The Strategic ICT Roadmap for Malaysia was mooted by the National IT Council established in the 6th Malaysia Plan (1990 -1995) and Malaysia‟s National ICT Agenda (NITC) was formulated in the 7th Malaysian Plan ( 1996-2000). The Eight Malaysia Plan (2001-2005)outlined the strategies, programmes, and projects to increase the nation‟s economic growth towards building a united, just and equitable society as well as meeting the challenges of globalization and k-economy.

The ultimate aim of these long and medium – term plans is to build Malaysia into a developed nation based on its mould. National broadband plan for operationalization of broadband in the country was formulated in 2005 targeting 50% penetration of household by 2010. Malaysian Information communication and multimedia services (MyICMS) plan was also formulated in 2005 to converge cellular telephony, broadcast and internet in the country. The Public Sector Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Strategic Plan was launched to ensure that the various ICT initiatives undertaken by the Government agencies will be in line with the Public
Sector ICT vision; to provide efficient and quality service to its customers - the citizens and businesses. In achieving this vision, the ICT Strategic Plan will be the blueprint that defines then vision, strategic direction and framework for the usage of ICT in the Public Sector; the objectives and strategic thrust areas of ICT development for the Public Sector; as well as the implementation strategies and action plans to be taken to realize the objectives of the plan.Human resource development is the foundation to the success of any nation. These plans have
great implications on the national education system, for such a transition will require the critical human capital capable of harnessing ICT to create new economic opportunities. Thus in order to develop this talent pool, the government announced in the Eight Malaysia Plan the need to reengineer the country‟s education system and align it with its Vision 2020.Education Development Plan for Malaysia 2006-2010 was launched in 2006 to chart the direction of education to pave the way for education in Malaysia for the future. The Education Development Plan aims to ensure that all citizens have the opportunity to twelve years of education in terms of increasing access to education, increase equity to education and increase quality education . The plan also aims to further develop the potentials of individuals in a holistic and integrated manner so as to produce individuals who are intellectually, spiritually emotionally and physically balanced in line with the National Educational Philosophy. The main focus of the plan was on the development of preschool, primary, secondary and tertiary education levels which will be strengthen through the development of support programmes, funding management and integration of information and communication technology (ICT)
The plan contained six main thrusts:
 To build a Malaysian nation.
 To develop human capital.
 To empower national schools.
 To bridge the education gap.
 To enhance the status of the teaching profession.
 To upgrade the excellence of educational institutions.
.

ICT in Education Policy
The Ministry of Education articulation of ICT in education focused on three main areas.
(Ref:Malaysian Smart School Roadmap 2005-2020: An Educational Odyssey; Multimedia
Development Corporation, Cyberjaya: 2005] and
http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=1385)
 ICT will be used as an enabler to reduce the digital divide between the country‟s schools
by enabling ICT access for all students;
 ICT will be used as teaching and learning tools in education, taught as an independent
subject and integrated into others; and
 ICT will be used to enhance efficiency, effectiveness and productivity of management in education.
The operationalisation of the policies into the educational demands calls for transformation of the ICT development plan. Malaysia ICT development plan aims to:
 Intensify the development of the ICT infrastructure;
 Expand access to and equity for ICT facilities;
 Improve assessment and evaluation systems using ICT;
 Emphasise ICT integration into teaching and learning processes;
 Improve ICT knowledge and skills of students, teachers and other personnel;
 Intensify usage of ICT in education management;
 Improve the management and maintenance of ICT equipment;
 Increase research and development efforts in ICT; and
 Increase cooperation between educational institution and the community towards
expansion of ICT in education.
Implementation Strategies
Implementation strategies to achieve Malaysia‟s ICT in education objectives include:
 Preparing appropriate ICT equipment and infrastructure for all schools;
 Introducing ICT curriculum and support for ICT integration into general teaching and learning;
 Upgrading the ICT skills and knowledge of both teachers and students;

 Increasing ICT use in educational management; and
 Upgrading ICT maintenance/management in educational institutions.
Major ICT In Education Initiatives
1) ICT for all students to bridge the digital divide between schools
a)The Smart School project:
The Smart School Flagship is one of the seven flagship application envisaged under the Multimedia Super Corridor initiative. This ICT-mediated project attempted to
systematically transform the schools in terms of teaching and learning practices and
school management processes in order to prepare the students for the information age.
This project was implemented by the government in collaboration with a consortium led
by the country „s major telecommunication company. The implementation were
scheduled to go through 4 waves :
i) the piloted in 88 schools from 1999 – 2002
ii) the post –pilot (2002- 2005), making all school smart (2005-2010 and
consolidation and stabilization.
Smart School solution encompasses the computerize Smart School Management System,
browser-based teaching and learning materials and Help Desk support services. This
project would be extended to other schools and all schools expected to be converted to Smart Schools by 2010.
b) Computer laboratories:
Under this project, which began in 1999, computer laboratories were constructed on a
large scale in schools. Up till May 2009, more than 6,000 schools were equipped with
computer labs. The laboratories are equipped with basic ICT facilities such as PCs, Local Network, printers and servers.
c) SchoolNet:
The SchoolNet project provides broadband internet access to all schools with the aim of bridging the digital divide between pupils in urban, rural and remote areas, To enable schools to get connected internally and globally, internet connection is provided via The SchoolNet project. Access with 1Mb/s are provided in 9654 locations. By 2010 internet access with 4Mbps would be available in 579 locations.
d) WebTV :
On demand video streaming of educational content were made available to users via the
EduwebTV initiative. Users can download educational contents via eight channels, viz;
news, academic, interviews, magazine, curriculum, live, interactive and guideline. The content videos can be downloaded anywhere, anytime as long as internet connection is available.
e) School Access Centres (SAC):
These centres are cyber café with a difference. It created a perfect setting for self access, self-directed and self-paced learning. With the School Access Centres, students can use computers even after school hours especially in accessing the internet and doing collaborative projects. Computer access centres have been installed in 3029 schools since 2006 with 70% rural schools and 30% urban schools distribution This project will:
 Enhance the acculturation of ICT into the learning process
 Reduce the computer-child ratio
 Increase pupil-computer contact hours
f) Transforming all the schools to smart schools:
As a strategy to turn all the schools smart and further reduce the digital divide between the schools and improving access and equity to ICT, the Government is leveraging and synergizing on the various ICT initiatives explained above into one effort. The making school smart programme is a logical continuation to the pilot smart school initiative. It is the third wave of the Smart School Implementation Plan
2) ICT as a teaching and learning tool Newhouse (2002) reports that ICT is a mediator of learning in the multi components learning environments and ICT have been shown to support students and teachers in improving learning outcomes. The Ministry had produced a variety of teaching and learning materials ranging from audio CD, video CDs, interactive CD ROMs, web-based multimedia contents as well as providing access to on line teaching and learning materials. A total of 3778 titles of teaching and learning materials have been produced and dispersed to schools from 1999 – 2008. Teachers and students had access to an array of ICT tools at their disposal such as electronic presentation, word processing,spreadsheets applications; electronic publishing. With the internet, they had access to web editing facilities; emails; electronic forums; chats; external electronic resources; and databases.
3) ICT as a productivity tool
The Education Ministry has been using computers to improve efficiency for many years.
Legacy systems such as Educational Management Information System (EMIS), Students
information System (Sistem Maklumat Murid – SMM), Students Discipline System
(Sistem Salahlaku dan Disiplin Murid – SSDM) have been the back bone of the data
gathering systems in schools. This is supported by many other systems such as Textbook Loans Management Systems (SISTEKS), school time table systems, and various other systems either procured by the states or district education departments or built by the schools themselves Under the Smart School programme (1999-2002), a browser based integrated school management application called Smart School Management System (SSMS) was built as a comprehensive system encompassing 10 school management functions into 32 modules. This later morphed into a web based school management function called Web School Management System (WSMS) in 2006. In 2009, an updated school management system called Sistem Pengurusan Sekolah (SPS) is introduced. This would be augmented with the Learning Management System (LMS) to enable schools to use the digital teaching and learning materials already available.

MALAYSIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROJECT
The Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Software Master Plan One of the main concerns from the implementation of ICT IN Malaysia is the escalating and high cost due to the structure of licensing fees and constant upgrade. The emergence of Open Source Software (OSS) where the source codes are available for the users to use,
modify and redistribute, provides vast opportunities for the government to leverage on OSS technologies for the benefit of its IT implementation. The Government of Malaysia has decided to encourage the development and implementation of Open Source Software and initiative and in the year 2002, the Malaysian Government endorsed Malaysian Administrative Modernization Management and Management Planning Unit (MAMPU)proposal for the development of the Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Software Master Plan for the benefit of its IT implementation. The objectives of this initiative are:
 Reduce total cost of ownership
 Increase freedom of choice of software
 Increase interoperability among systems
 Increase growth of ICT industry
 Increase growth of OSS industry
 Increase growth of OSS user and developer community
 Increase growth of knowledge-based society
 Reduce digital divide
The Malaysian Public Sector Open Source Software Master Plan includes the following;
 Establish strategic direction and framework
 Develop an implementation plan and roadmap
 Establish Open Source Software Competency Centre to support OSS
implementation in Public Sector
 Formulate policies, standards and guidelines

In the Master Plan‟s Phase I: Laying the Foundation, four (4) government agencies were selected to participate in the Malaysia Public Sector OSS Initiative, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) was one of the selected pilot agencies. In 2004, the Ministry of Education embarked upon the implementation of a MAMPU sponsored Learning
Management System (LMS) pilot project which covered the following OSS solution
areas:
 Application Solution: Development of a web-based Shareable Content Object
Reference Model (SCORM) compliant education application developed for schools
as part of MAMPU‟S Open Source Master Plan -LMS for use in schools.
 Distributed Enterprise: Processing on multiple remote servers with a centralised
data store for consolidation.
 Infrastructure Solution: LMS is using PHP development platform and operating in
Linux Server using Apache for the web server and MySQL for the database.
The original pilot LMS was designed to operate with the School Management System
(SMS) of MOE, and could also operate as a standalone system independently. The 2004
LMS was a modified version of A-Tutor 1.4 to focus on functionalities for teaching and learning. (A-Tutor is an open source web-based SCORM complaint learning management system.)In the initial MOE LMS pilot project, heavy modification, customization and localization were made on A-Tutor to accommodate the requirements of MOE such as to allow either single or multiple schools hosting. The front-end user interface was completely changed,which had very little resemblance to the original A-Tutor. Moreover, a Bahasa Malaysia language option was added to the front-end user interface in addition to the original English language.The LMS was developed using PHP scripts operating on an Apache web server, MySQL database and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server. Selected existing Windows-based smart school courseware titles were also launched in an OSS environment with the licensed
CrossOver Office plugins. The flexibility of open standards allowed the LMS to run in
Linux and other operating systems accessible using Mozilla, Firefox and other internet browsers. The LMS pilot project was implemented in three schools, namely:
• SK Putrajaya 2, Putrajaya (Smart School)
• SMK Aminuddin Baki, Kuala Lumpur (Smart School)
• SMK Seri Titiwangsa, Kuala Lumpur (Ordinary School with IT Laboratory)
Three different architecture setups were tested for assessing the best architecture for subsequent roll out to other selected schools.
• SK Putrajaya 2 used a thin client over local area network (LAN). The LMS
server and thin client server were located in the school.
• SMK Aminuddin Baki used Linux desktops to access the LMS over SchoolNet.
The LMS server was located in Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan (BTP), Ministry of
Education (MOE).
• SMK Seri Titiwangsa used existing computer laboratory PCs operating on
Windows XP to access the LMS over LAN. The LMS server was located in the school.
The pilot LMS project kicked-off on 9th, August 2004 and was signed-off upon full
completion on 31st, October, 2005 under Phase I of the Malaysia Public Sector Open
Source Software Program.Following the handover of the pilot project to the Ministry of Education, MAMPU conducted a Post Implementation Review (PIR) to assess the strengths, weaknesses and gaps between the LMS performance against users' requirements and expectations to provide input for the enhancement of the system before rolling out the LMS to more schools. The pilot LMS provided many learning opportunities, and for this current LMS project several improvements and enhancements have been made to overcome the issues raised in the PIR. The improvements will include changes to the functionalities and processes of
the Pilot LMS Project including but not limited to:
(a) Teacher and Student Management
• Registration and enrollment to class and courses with proper access rights to class
related resources in the system
(b) Course Management
• Import/export of SCORM 1.2 compliant courseware.
• WYSIWYG content authoring with graphics inclusion/resizing support
• Support for inputting and displaying of mathematical and scientific symbols
(c) System Management
• SSO with multi-authentication plug-ins including LDAP
Overview of Current LMS Project As mentioned earlier, the LMS in Phase 1 was heavily modified, customized and localized, yet many of the users' requirements were not being fulfilled. For example,there were limited mathematical and scientific symbols, restricted graphics‟ functionalities, cumbersome on-line editing of lessons, problematic re-sizing of photos and pictures, and constrained design and tests‟ settings. The limited bandwidth of the schools also created usability issues for teachers and learners. Therefore, the Ministry of Education was confronted by two dilemmas: no upgrade path for the pilot LMS and the inability to use MOE media rich files due to bandwidth cost.The new LMS has the capability to address the above shortcomings of the pilot LMS,and the new LMS is more user-friendly for preparing and editing coursework, assigning homework, managing exam banks and administering examinations. The new LMS is well-tested and accepted by over 30 million Moodle users worldwide.

Project Description
The Ministry of Education introduction of blended-learning to its schools through a
distributed architecture LMS. This is to overcome the issue of limited bandwidth and
large media rich files. Before the LMS is deployed, it will be localized and customized. The roll-out will be in a phased-approach consisting of 5 initial schools followed by nine batches of 5 schools each. Blended-learning, technical and LMS user training, by means of a “train the trainer” concept, will be adopted. The project is supported by network monitoring software and help-desk and maintenance services for two years.

Project Goals and Objectives
1. To adopt the key success factors of the LMS Pilot Project and incorporate the
lessons learned to fine tune and plug gaps to ensure rectification before the LMS is
rolled out to more schools in Malaysia.
2. Reinforce buy-in for the project by including users‟ recommendations to bridge
the gap between current LMS performance against requirements and expectations.
3. Update technology, network infrastructure, tools and software.
4. Accelerate Adoption: Roll-out LMS to 50 schools throughout Malaysia and also
to further test and promote OSCC target solution areas in:
5. Application Solution: Development of the web-based SCORM compliant LMS
for use in schools.
6. Distributed Enterprise: Processing on multiple remote servers with a centralized
data store for consolidation.
7. Infrastructure Solution: L.A.M.P. Adopting a Linux Operating System, Apache
Web Server, MySQL database, and PHP development platform.
In line with the government policy of prudent spending, MOE hopes with proper
implementation and management OSS LMS the ultimate objective to accomplish the
Malaysian government‟s mission to promote pervasive adoption, development and use
of Open Source Software becomes a reality.MOE investment in ICT is also based on a
User-Centric Aligned IT Strategy to develop the knowledge base (not data) and using
the knowledge to customize the approach to optimize the long- term development and
improve education standards in Malaysia through :
 re-engineering of education and administrative processes;
 is supported, not driven, by technology.
 and reinforced with change management
Blended Learning and Social Constructist Pedagogy
In this age of the Internet, a new landscape of educational model to develop, and blended learning has grown into a standard for modern education. The concept of extending the physical classroom into a virtual, web-based classroom has driven the development of Learning Management Systems such as Moodle. However, Moodle has its own foundation: the concept of a “social constructionist pedagogy”. This theory, going back to Piaget and employed by Seymour Papert and Alan Kay of the One Laptop per Child Initiative, is often called “learning-by-making”.According to this theory, learning is a reconstruction rather than a transmission of knowledge. Learning is not something that is done “to” you, learning is something that you “do”.
Promoting Learner Involvement “A constructivist perspective views learners as actively engaged in making meaning, and teaching with that approach looks for what students can analyze, investigate, collaborate,share, build and generate based on what they already know, rather than what facts, skills,and processes they can parrot. Some of the tenets of constructivism in pedagogical terms include:”
Students come to class with an established world-view, formed by years of prior experience and learning.Even as it evolves, a student‟s world-view filters all experiences and affects their interpretations of observations.For students to change their world-view requires work. Students learn from each other as well as the teacher.Students learn better by doing.Allowing and creating opportunities for all to have a voice promotes the construction of new ideas.

System Architecture
The previous LMS consisted of three system architectures: a thin client server accessing
a local LMS server; Linux desktops accessing the LMS server at Educational
Technology Department through SchoolNet; and Windows desktops accessing a local
LMS server. None of the three architectures accommodated user access from home. The
PIR indicated that not being able to access the LMS from home was a major drawback.
Given that blended-learning requires out-of-the-classroom access, it is vital that the proposed enhanced LMS fill this shortcoming of the Phase 1 deployment.

In order to meet the need of home access to the enhanced LMS, several system
architectures have been discussed and the following picture illustrates the basic
configuration. Each school has a school server that contains the enhanced LMS, and
users at the school connect to the LMS via a LAN. The LMS should be able to serve
content in a fraction of a second to users in the schools‟ LAN. Home users will be able to access the school server via the central server using SchoolNet and a reverse proxy setup.
CHALLENGES
a. Meeting User Demands
The degree of fit between the user requirements and the LMS software clearly marked the LMS lacks the ability for teachers to keep track of the students learning progress. Students and teachers could not access the LMS from the outside school for homework and assignments.
b. Change Management
Changing the mindset of teachers can be a challenging task. The engagement between
teachers and technology fail to shape the teachers to focus on what the technology can do ,rather than how their pedagogical goals can be achieved .
c. Cost of Bandwidth
In Malaysia, the cost of bandwidth is prohibitively high, so a central server solution is not currently financially viable. A distributed architecture allows for fast Local Area Network (LAN) access to each school server. The PIR indicated that users complained of long wait times to access content not located on a LAN. The following table contains data regarding download speeds for 20 computer users attempting to concurrently access a 10 MB file on a remote server.As lamented in the PIR, 20 computer users sharing SchoolNet‟s limited capacity requires them to
wait 26.7 minutes to download a 10 MB file. The same file requires 0.8 seconds to load in a LAN environment. Being that some of the courseware files are as large as 650 MB and given the high cost of bandwidth in Malaysia, a distributed architecture is the only feasible option.

CONCLUSION
 The development of the Malaysian Public Sector OSS Master Plan Malaysian
Administrative Modernization Management and Management Planning Unit
(MAMPU) will serve as guide to accelerate the adoption and usage of OSS in
the public sector. In terms of integrating ICT, the implementation of– OSS Master Plan in 2004 and the subsequent expansion in 2009 initiative had brought valuable lessons to the Ministry of Education. We have learned that in the days of rapidly changing technology we can no longer formulate plans with one size that fits all. All stakeholders must be brought together so that future plans take into account the latest development and future trends of the industry. There is a pressing need for schools to be able to build their own repertoire of teaching and learning materials that fit their school requirement.The development and implementation of Open Source Software and initiative at the school level it is hope that the availability of innovations be a reality through the reduction of total cost of ownership, increase freedom of choice of software and eventually reduce digital divide. In the Malaysian context a drastic change in the mindset of the schools and the community is needed in order to transform the curriculum and assessment with ICT as the key enabler. Integrating ICT in TLM must focus on producing students that are creative, innovative and critical as outlined in the National Education Philosophy and realized the ICT master plans of the country .

Malaysian hospital revamps data centre architecture

Sunway Medical Centre (SunMed), located in Petaling Jaya, not far from the Malaysian capital Kuala Lumpur, is one of the foremost private medical facilities in Malaysia. Not only has it been ISO 9001:2000, MS ISO 15189 and Malaysian Society for Quality in Health (MSQH) accredited, it also runs its own Facebook fan page with frequent discussions with the public.

SunMed’s ICT implementation began in 1999, where the first basic Hospital Information System as well as Payroll and Accounting were implemented. The whole hospital had 25 PCs at that time.

Today that number has grown by about 20 times to more than 1000 PCs and printer. Applications have also extended into clinical areas, including Medication and Supplies Dispensing System, Cardiovascular Image Management System and Critical Care Management System, all of which are mission critical.

A new building expanded which completed recently has more than doubled the number of network points.

“Like most companies, we faced insufficient space, UPS power and cooling coupled with legacy tower servers that had single power supply and network port,” says Rachel Lim, SunMed’s IT manager.

As the data centre was not automatically managed, it was difficult for IT staff to be aware of a power trip or air-conditioning power problem. “Downtime was frequent and we at the IT department were only notified when the users complained about not able to access the services,” Lim tells FutureGov.

The legacy standalone UPS units were also problematic when new servers needed to be installed.

“Which UPS should the new server be connected to? Whether we should install new air-conditioners?” Lim says, explaining that without situational awareness, it was difficult for them to optimise the data centre power efficiency.

An upgrade in December 2008 not only expanded the data centre physically, but also revamped the whole power and cooling infrastructure.

“In 1999 our data centre occupied only 200 square feet of space,” reveals Lim to FutureGov. “Now it is more than 800 square feet.”

In addition to a redesign of the power supply system to make it more scalable according to needs, An on-demand architecture called InfraStruXureR was deployed to ensure in-row cooling – cooling the servers without wasting energy to cool the surrounding environment.

New cooling units are only added when new servers are installed.

Revealing that currently there is no plan to move data and applications to the cloud, Lim nevertheless points out the option is well worth considering when cloud computing becomes ‘better defined and controlled’.

Where Education Matters Most For Refugee Children

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- According to the statistics issued by UNHCR Malaysia, as of last Sept 30, there were 63,600 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UN Refugee Agency.

From this figure, 58,000 were from Myanmar comprising some 27,700 Chins, 15,900 Rohingyas, 3,800 Myanmar Muslims, 2,300 Kachins and the remaining being other ethnic minorities from that country.

There were also some 5,600 refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries, including 2,700 Sri Lankans, 760 Somalis, 530 Iraqis and 530 Afghans.

Based on the available statistics, 51 per cent of the refugees and asylum-seekers were men while women made up 49 per cent. There were 14,600 children below the age of 18.

UNHCR Malaysia said there were also a large number of persons of concern to the agency who remained unregistered and the figure was said to be around 30,000.

GENERATION OF BEGGARS

For Zin Oo Ko, who is from Myanmar and whose family migrated to Malaysia in the late 80s, only education would take the refugee children off the streets and prevent them from becoming a generation of beggars apart from being dragged into being part of the 'bad hats'.

Zin said there were two groups of Rohingya refugee children who took to the streets as beggars in Malaysia.

On one side, the children were in the clutches of a triad from their own ethnic group and local gangs who paid some money to the parents of the children and the children themselves before sending them out to the streets to beg.

"The other group are those who have no choice but to beg and begging is the easiest form of earning a livelihood," he said.

Zin then related the story of Abdul Rahim who is Anwar Begum's (the Rohingya refugee child mentioned in the first part of this article) older brother who had to 'beg' to support his family.

"He was actually selling religious books but this is also considered like begging because there is no fixed amount for the books. It is up to the people to give him whatever amount they thought suitable.

"The family is ashamed to allow Abdul Rahim to do this but they have no choice and the boy is also too young to get a job. The father used to go round collecting metal scraps and recycled items but later he became too ill and became bedridden," said zin.

The young boy then started to mix with the bad elements and was later picked up by the authorities. After some considerations by the relevant authorities, they decided to send him to a reform school in Kelantan.

TEACH THEM HOW TO FISH

Zin said poverty, particularly for the refugees, served not only as the breeding ground for crimes but also for the refugees to rapidly 'multiply' in their number as were ignorant of family planning.

"To me, the only way to get these people out from the clutches of poverty is through education. We can give them rice, a packet or two or give them money but money is never enough.

"We need to empower them, especially the children, teach them how to fish, not just giving them the fish so they can stand on their own two feet. What if one day I am not here anymore and also the people who are helping them?

"What would happen to them then? Would they go back to their old lives? In a way I am a bit worried," Zin said in an interview with Bernama here recently.

Zin who can also speak fluent Bahasa Malaysia said he had taken onto himself to teach some of the Rohingya children including Anwar Begum and her siblings. The students are between five and 23 years old.

VERY REWARDING

According to the 30-year-old Zin, he started teaching the children around end of 2005 until recently where he decided to temporarily stop pending getting a proper place to conduct the classes.

"I was going from house to house, teaching Bahasa Malaysia, English, some Mathematics and religious studies. The children were great, very responsive and excited to learn.

It is satisfying to see the glow on their faces as they respond to my teaching. They also love drawings.

"Anwar Begum for example. She can now read. Three years ago she knows nothing. She can also listen to the Malay news and translate them for her parents," said Zin who has a Malaysian Permanent Resident (PR) status.

Zin himself has no experience in teaching but after asking around from his friends who are teachers and lecturers, he begins to develop his own syllabus to teach the children.

"I feel privileged that I can assist them. We are not in their situation, we are the lucky ones and if we compare our lives to theirs and also our every day problems, it is nothing compared to what they are going through.

"They are practically living with no hope, no dreams, no tomorrow, nothing. I am helping them straight from my heart. My goal is, let's say out of 100 students, if I can get one into university, this is already very rewarding. This will take some time but I am willing to do this forever.

"At the same time for those who cannot study, I want to give them vocational training like that in wiring, house renovations, auto mechanics and handicrafts. This is my long-term plan," said Zin.

Malaysia to double tiger population by next year: government

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia's deputy premier has announced plans to double the population of the endangered Malayan Tiger through a new initiative to manage and conserve the big cat in its natural environment.

Muhyiddin Yassin said the government's new biodiversity council had adopted the National Tiger Action Plan in a bid to boost the dwindling population.

The plan targets an increase in the Malayan tiger population "to 1,000 by 2020 in their natural habitat," he told state media Bernama late Wednesday.

"We will take concrete efforts to protect the tigers, including in situ conservation efforts. The aim is to also widen the area where wildlife is protected."

Wildlife activists have welcomed the government's endorsement of the plan, urging greater enforcement of laws to protect the animals.

"High level support behind the action plan is crucial not just to save tigers but their habitat and prey species," Chris Shepherd, acting head of wildlife trade monitoring group TRAFFIC Southeast Asia told AFP.

A "decline in their prey base" is one of the key threats to the tigers, he added.

The government said in July it has also sought the help of the military to battle poaching, which wildlife activists say has reduced the number of Malayan Tigers in the wild from around 3000 in the 1950s to fewer than 500 tigers now.

"Enforcement in Malaysia and across tiger-range states needs to be stepped up as tiger (numbers) have declined so sharply in the last few years," Shepherd added.

"We are not going to be able to save tigers unless enforcement and deterrents are in place."

Tiger parts are used in traditional medicine across the region. Last month, wildlife authorities rescued a Malayan tiger from a snare set up by poachers near the country's jungle border with Thailand. The animal died from its wounds shortly after.

Work closer on wildlife
Farrah Naz Karim, The Star 5 Nov 09;

PUTRAJAYA: The deputy prime minister has called to heighten joint enforcement initiatives among state governments, the Wildlife Department and Peninsular Malaysia Forestry Department to curb encroachment and poaching.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said this was one of the many steps needed to ensure the sound management and conservation of biodiversity.

Effective measures would enable Malaysia to enjoy its rich biodiversity as a new source of wealth, he said in a statement yesterday after chairing the sixth National Biodiversity-Biotechnology Council, now renamed the National Biodiversity Council.

He said the council had agreed to expand the National Biodiversity Integrated Spatial Data Base Development Project to the whole peninsula (Phase 1) as well as pilot areas in Sabah and Sarawak (Phase 2).

The project, which uses remote sensing technology and geographical information system, would be a more effective way of creating a balance between biodiversity conversation and development.

"The council is also taking note of efforts by the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry in keeping an inventory of the country's biodiversity wealth. It is crucial for us to know our biodiversity and the need for conservation to use it as a driver of new wealth," he said.

The council also adopted the paper Common Vision on Biodiversity aimed at driving biodiversity into the mainstream of the country's development.

This, he said, would require all sectors and activities related to biodiversity to take into account sustainable management, conservation and utilisation of biodiversity.

A National Biodiversity Centre would be set up in line with the National Diversity Biology policy, which is aimed at strengthening the institutional framework for the management of biology diversity.

The issue of Malayan tigers, which are fast dwindling in numbers, was also touched on at the meeting attended by several ministers, menteris besar and chief ministers.

The council adopted the National Tigers Action Plan (NTAP), an integrated approach for the management and conservation of the Malayan tiger in its natural habitats.

The plan, Muhyiddin said, was to save the rare species from extinction as they now numbered about 500, from 3,000 in the 1950s.

The NTAP, among others, would focus on the conservation of tigers in-situ at conservation sites.

"Through this action plan, the management of the tigers' habitat could be strengthened by increasing the wildlife corridor network and protection areas."

With the plan in place, Muhyiddin said the council expected the number of Malayan tigers to increase to 1,000 by next year.

Muhyiddin announces plan to double tiger population
The Star 5 Nov 09;

PUTRAJAYA: A comprehensive plan to double the country’s tiger population is in the works.

The plan, to be adopted by the National Biodiversity-Biotechnology Council, aims to manage and protect the animal from extinction and increase its numbers in the wild to 1,000 by the year 2020.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the country could not afford to lose the tiger as it was a subspecies unique to Malay­­sia.

According to official records, Malaysia’s tiger population was estimated at 3,000 in the 1950s but current figures showed a drastic drop to between 450 and 500 only.

“We will take concrete efforts to protect the tigers, including in situ conservation efforts. The aim is also to widen the area where wildlife is protected,” he said after chairing the council’s sixth meeting yesterday.

Those present included Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Douglas Unggah Embas, Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Maximus Ongkili, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Khaled Nordin, and International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed.


Malaysian Tiger Action Plan adopted
TRAFFIC 5 Nov 09;

The Government in Malaysia has endorsed a Tiger Action Plan that aims to see 1,000 wild animals in the country by 2020 Click photo to enlarge © Roger Hooper / WWF-Canon Kuala Lumpur, 5 November 2009—Malaysia’s roadmap to saving its wild tigers has received its most solid endorsement yet—a firm and clear commitment from Government to protect the species and the places it calls home.

The National Tiger Action Plan was officially adopted by Malaysia’s National Biodiversity-Biotechnologys Council yesterday. It is a detailed document that government and environmental NGOs jointly shaped over the past two years.

Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who chairs the Council said the government would take concrete efforts to protect the Tigers, double their number by 2020 and widen the area where wildlife is protected.

The high-powered Council counts Ministers of Environment, Health, Education, Science, Technology and Innovation as well as International Trade and Ministry among its members.

Consultations on the draft plan between the Wildlife and National Parks Department and a coalition of NGOs that formed the Malaysian Conservation Alliance for Tigers (MYCAT) began in 2006. The coalition comprises TRAFFIC Southeast Asia, WWF Malaysia, Malaysian Nature Society and the Wildlife Conservation Society-Malaysia Programme.

The plan, which was completed and released late 2007, spells out the direction and specific actions that government agencies and NGOs must carry out between 2008 and 2015 to secure a future for wild Malayan Tiger populations.

These actions include securing ample Tiger habitats, ensuring connectivity of habitats, protecting Tiger prey-species and enforcement against poachers and has even been built into spatial and infrastructure development planning.

Its overall indicator of success will be 1,000 wild Tigers surviving on wild prey in the year 2020, in a secured, well-connected swathe of forest that runs through the centre of Peninsular Malaysia, referred to as the Central Forest Spine.

Malaysia currently has an estimated 500 wild Tigers, down from about 3,000 in the 1950s.

“This is a monumental step forward for conservation of Malaysia’s Tigers and all wildlife,” said Chris R. Shepherd, TRAFFIC Southeast Asia’s Acting-Director.

“There’s much work ahead to realize the plan and many problems to address, but this is exactly the kind of commitment we hope all Tiger range States will show.

Among those problems, which the Council also addressed, were threats posed by encroachment into protected areas and poaching. The Deputy Prime Minister called on the all State Governments, the Wildlife and National Parks Department and the Forestry Department to work towards curbing the problem.

The adoption of the plan is a timely boost for conservation efforts and comes at a critical time for Tiger and Tiger prey survival. Poaching levels are high, as indicated by numerous recent illegal activities in Malaysia’s forests.

In July, the government took another crucial step towards protecting Tiger prey-species by placing a two-year ban on the hunting of Sambar and Barking Deer.

Most recently, on October 26, Wildlife and National Parks Department arrested two men for poaching two Barking Deer, just off a highway that cuts through a biodiversity rich forest in the north of Peninsular Malaysia.

The men, both from the town of Gerik in Perak, will face charges under Section 68 of the Protection of Wildlife Act 1972 for possession of a protected species and could face up to RM3,000 in fines or a maximum three years in prison, or both, upon conviction.

Wildlife officers in Gerik town alone have handled 16 cases involving poachers so far this year, Perak State Wildlife Department Director Shabrina Mohd Shariff said.

In May, authorities caught two men with the skull and bones of a Tiger and arrested Cambodian poachers in Malaysia’s forests with wildlife parts. Just last month, a Tiger was found in a snare by authorities and WWF’s wildlife protection unit, unfortunately it died of its injures.

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA UNVEILS PLANT GENOME OF BILLION-DOLLAR GLOBAL INDUSTRY

Press Release - Penang, 28 October - The Centre for Chemical Biology, Universiti Sains Malaysia had successfully decoded the rubber tree genome. This accomplishment could potentially place Malaysia as the biggest producer of rubber.

Rubber-Genome
Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin (second from right) and Prof. Tan Sri Dato' Dzulkifli (leftmost), Dr. Wan Rahaman and CCB@USM team holding the rubber tree after the press conference today.
Copyright : Universiti Sains Malaysia
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA UNVEILS PLANT GENOME OF BILLION-DOLLAR INDUSTRY

PENANG 28 October - The Centre for Chemical Biology, Universiti Sains Malaysia had successfully decoded the rubber tree genome. This accomplishment could potentially place Malaysia as the biggest producer of rubber.

The Minister of Higher Education Dato’ Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin announced at CCB@USM yesterday that this major achievement could lead to many end products and contribute to the billion dollar rubber industry.

Khaled stated that CCB@USM had successfully decoded the draft of the 2 billion base genome of the rubber tree Hevea brasiliensis through its chemical biology discovery platform.

“This project is a result of an international collaboration led by CCB@USM that forms an excellent foundation for major contributions to society at the bottom billion,” he said during the press conference.

Also present were the Vice Chancellor of Universiti Sains Malaysia Prof. Tan Sri Dato’ Dzulkifli Abdul Razak, the Chief Executive Officer of CCB@USM, Prof Maqsudul Alam, and the Chief Operating Officer of Malaysian Biotechnology Corporation, Dr. Wan Abdul Rahman Wan Yaacob.

Khaled added that the most significant benefit of this finding was that it will help the nation in developing a high quality breed of rubber tree with resistance to diseases such as South American Leaf Blight and white root.

He also explained that Malaysia could potentially be the hub for rubber tree biotechnological research in Asia and at the same time train competent younger generation of scientists skilled in various disciplines such as genomics, molecular biology, and bioinformatics.

The Deputy Director (Research) of CCB@USM, Prof Nazalan Najimudin, expressed that this effort will empower the nation (Malaysia) to remain as the leader in rubber research and be at the forefront in the global rubber industry. This will enhance Malaysia’s competitiveness in rubber production. Malaysia is currently the world's fourth biggest producer, after Indonesia, Thailand, and India.

“The genome information will enable researchers to understand genetic characteristics of different breeds of rubber trees well in advance compared to conventional breeding techniques that are currently being used. As an example, for the development of the rubber tree for the timber or wood industry, determination of the girth of a rubber tree may take 10 to 12 years. With this genome information, we may be able to detect varieties that are able to produce large girths as early as a year or less.”

“This is one obvious benefit that we could obtain from this rubber tree genome. There are many other biotechnological studies which deal with pharmaceuticals, health, and others that can be performed.”

Nazalan also explained that institutions of higher learning contribute to innovations that could give high benefits to the national economy.

“This study relies upon the belief that for us to advance and obtain good returns involving the rubber tree, we must have the fundamental knowledge and the basic information on the rubber tree itself.”

“Filing of intellectual property claims requires one to possess information or knowledge which is not yet released to the public domain. Therefore, this genome sequencing project allows us to discover key information and protect them before others can exploit and make claims. “

He reiterated that furniture from rubberwood has proven popular and is an important export for Malaysia. The trait that can be developed and improved is in the properties of rubberwood and the genome information will move this area of plant breeding very fast.

For further enquiry, please contact:

PROFESSOR NAZALAN NAJIMUDIN

DEPUTY DIRECTOR (RESEARCH)

CENTRE FOR CHEMICAL BIOLOGY (CCB@USM)

UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA

11800 PENANG

MALAYSIA

Email: nazalan@usm.my

Phone: +60 12 598 5600


ABOUT CENTRE FOR CHEMICAL BIOLOGY, UNIVERSITI SAINS MALAYSIA

CCB@USM, located in the Science and Arts Innovation Space at Universiti Sains Malaysia (sains@usm), is a Chemical Biology Research Centre focused on understanding biological systems and inspiring genome-based discoveries that provide economic and social benefits to those at the bottom of the global pyramid. CCB@USM has strategically positioned itself as the conduit for transforming fundamental academic research into applied research/development initiatives of significant interest and benefit to private enterprise. The formation of CCB@USM was endorsed by the USM Senate on 1 July 2008 and officially approved by the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) on 3 February 2009.

CCB@USM Mission

To develop a leading platform for fundamental research in chemical biology.
To generate a creative, conducive, innovative, and flexible transdisciplinary international research culture.
To develop international translational young generation of scientists with emphasis in local talent (postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers).
To obtain and transfer technology through smart partnership.

CCB@USM Research
Our Motto: Driving Inspirations into Reality through first-rate fundamental research that transforms higher education for a sustainable tomorrow.

Our focus is on 3 major research themes:
• Molecular bioengineering and synthetic biology
• Natural product-based drug discovery
• Structural and computational biology

CCB@USM’s Young Generation of Scientists
• 4 Undergraduate students
• 24 MSc students
• 2 PhD students
• 3 Post-doctoral researchers

CCB@USM’s International Collaborations
• United States
• South Africa
• New Zealand
• Vietnam
• Japan
• India
• Czech Republic
• Spain
• France

New Merit Calculation For IPTA Admission Next Year

PUTRAJAYA, Oct 30 (Bernama) -- Starting next year, a new system will be used to calculate the merit points for Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) 2009 school-leavers and the exam's equivalent, for admission into public institutions of higher learning (IPTAs).

Higher Education Department director-general Datuk Dr Radin Umar Radin Sohadi said the change was in line with the Education Ministry's new A+ pass level for SPM 2009 leavers next year.

"The system is introduced to accept the best into the IPTAs and to distinguish the difference between A+, A and A-," he said at a news conference here Friday.

Using this new system, a student scoring A will be categorised as A+, A or A- with merit points of 18, 16 and 14 respectively, compared to the previous 1A and 2A.

He said grade 3B would be changed to B+ and have a value of 12 merit points, 4B changed to B (10), 5C to C+ (eight), 6C to C (six), 7D to D (four), 8E to E (two), and 9G to G with no merit points.

However, Radin Umar said the new method would also take into account the special entrance requirement to ensure that earlier students who obtained grade 6C (credit) were not moved to a lower grade.

"The processing, calculation of merit points, university entrance requirement, programme entrance requirement and candidate selection will be carried out in two ways, which are the current method for SPM 2008 leavers and those before that, and the latest method for SPM 2009 leavers.

"This way, chances of earlier SPM leavers to further their studies at the IPTAs are not affected."

He said the implementation of the new merit calculation method would be made known to students, teachers and parents during the Higher Education Carnival 2010 with the cooperation of the Education Ministry, from January to March next year in 10 selected zones nationwide.

"The ministry will also hold briefing roadshows for guidance counsellors and update information in the brochures and Education Ministry's website," he said.

Malaysian Pupils Feared Drowned After Bridge Collapse

Search and rescue operations are under way in Malaysia for primary school children feared drowned after a suspension bridge collapsed during a camping trip.

One girl is confirmed dead and two are missing after the incident late yesterday near Kuala Dipang, the national news agency Bernama reported. The victims were less than 13 years old. Police had said as many as 21 students may be missing.

They were among 298 pupils from 60 primary schools on a field trip about two hours from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Between 30 and 50 children were on the bridge when it collapsed at about 10 p.m. local time when they were crossing from the camp site to the Kuala Dipang school to have dinner.

About 20 people were saved when they managed to cling to the structure.

The 50-meter (164-foot) bridge was completed two weeks ago to replace an earlier suspension bridge that also collapsed, Bernama reported.

K. Mathivanan, a 12-year-old student who survived the accident, told Bernama some students were jumping up and down before the bridge collapsed.

Mathivanan said he was thrown into the river, and was able to grab a rope. “The current was so strong, but I managed to pull myself up,” he said.

Investigation Planned

The Education Ministry will investigate the incident, including whether teachers were properly supervising the pupils.

“We hope that the teachers in charge will exercise greater caution,” Deputy Prime Minister and Education Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said after visiting the accident scene. “The safety of pupils must be given top priority.”

Mohd Safri Abdul Rafar, a teacher, said he was close to the bridge when he heard a loud noise, as if something heavy had crashed, followed by screams.

“I immediately jumped over the fence into the river,” he told Bernama. “I had a chance to pull out three, or four students.” He said the current was so strong he almost drowned and was forced to climb out of the river.

The bridge collapsed after a metal pillar was ripped out, Perak’s chief minister Zambry Abdul Kadir was cited as saying by Bernama. A concrete block foundation was also ripped out of the ground and part of the bridge walkway was left floating in the river, the news agency said.

The Kampar River is known for water sports. The part of the river where the bridge was built is about 30 meters wide and 1.5 meters deep, Bernama said.

Proposal To Reduce Compulsory Service For Doctors

PETALING JAYA, Oct 21 (Bernama) -- The Ministry of Health (MOH) has recommended to the Malaysian Medical Council (MMC) to reduce the compulsory service for new doctors from the present three years to two years.

This was in response to requests from parents who had sacrificed in funding the medical education of their children, said Director-General of Health, Tan Sri Dr Mohd Ismail Merican.

Writing in the special column in the Malaysian Medical Association's (MMA) latest newsletter, he said the ministry appreciated the long hours housemen and junior doctors and doctors in general have put in and the ministry "was doing everything in its power to fight for better remuneration, allowances and promotional prospects."

"Various measures have been taken and will be implemented to ensure that doctors continue to serve the MOH," he added.

Among them were creation of new allowances; improving the current critical and on-call allowances; providing RM80 per hour allowance for working extended hours; and RM200 per hour for those performing operations on off-days.

In addition MOH had also created more opportunities for doctors to get promoted to higher grades and improve working conditions and environment.

He said so far 24,135 posts have been created but as at Dec 2008 only 13,762 or 57 per cent of the posts had been filled of which 2,545 were for specialists from various disciplines.

Dr Mohd Ismail said the ministry was also working on a time-based and flexible promotion for medical officers who were not specialists.

"It saddens me to learn that some of our non-specialist medical officers have retired on low grades even after putting in long years of valuable and loyal service."

"However, with this new initiative the days of medical officers, some of whom are 'gurkhas' in the department, being neglected or overlooked for promotion will be history," he assured.

To address the shortage of doctors in the short term , Dr Mohd Ismail said the ministry had invited those working abroad and those in the local private sector to work with the MOH.

"We have already placed advertisements and hope they will respond favourably and rise to the challenge of providing quality healthcare to Malaysians," he added.

According to Dr Mohd Ismail, last year government doctors provided services to two million admitted patients and 62 million out-patients. This year the number would increase significantly due to the economic downturn and the Influenza A H1N1 pandemic.

Education can boost national integration

I TRULY agree with Farah Syahiran’s views in her letter “Learning languages the way to 1Malaysia,” (The Star, Oct 24).

I think the most basic way towards national integration is through education which is important as all of us go to school as kids. We have to spend 10 years in school just from Year One to Form 5. Therefore, national unity should begin at school.

I come from a national school background and I think such schools really unite all races. The Government should encourage more parents to send their kids to national schools.

I believe Maths and Science should continue to be taught in English because we already have so many subjects taught in Bahasa Malaysia.

Students should be encouraged to take up extra languages such as Mandarin or Tamil.

The additional knowledge can be used as extra merit points to apply for a scholarship.

Students should not take up their own mother tongue as an exam subject. This will help strengthen unity as the next generation will have the ability to understand languages from different races.

Najib Leads Malaysian Delegation To 15th Asean Summit

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 23 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is leading the Malaysian delegation to the three-day 15th Asean Summit in Cha-am Hua Hin, Thailand, starting Friday.

He will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Datuk Anifah Aman, Information Communication and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed and senior ministry officials.

A Foreign Ministry statement here says that Najib is also scheduled to have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from Asean member states and the dialogue partners in Cha-am Hua Hin.

During the summit, themed "Enhancing Connectivity, Empowering Peoples", the leaders will be exchanging views on regional and international issues of common concern to Asean, such as Asean connectivity, global economic and financial crisis, food security, disaster management and other issues.

Malaysia views the Asean summit and related summits as important fora in pursuing and achieving the various goals, to ensure that Asean remains relevant in face of current and future challenges, the statement says.

It is also an opportunity to take stock and review the status of cooperation with its dialogue partners with a view to deepening and strengthening the existing relations.

The summit will be held at the Dusit Thani Hotel, Hua Hin, today, followed by a retreat tomorrow before the Asean Plus 1 summits with China, Japan, Republic of Korea (ROK) and India as well as the 12th Asean Plus Three Summit.

The 4th East Asia Summit involving Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea and the 6th Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) will be held on Sunday.

The Asean leaders will also inaugurate the launch of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) to promote and protect human rights in the region.

They are expected to adopt four documents, namely, the Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on the Inauguration of the ASEAN Intergovermental Commission on Human Rights, Cha-am Hua Hin Declaration on Strengthening Cooperation on Education to Achieve an Asean Caring and Sharing Community, Asean Declaration on Climate Change and Asean Leaders' Statement on Asean Connectivity.

They will also issue four other documents with their Dialogue Partners namely, the Cha-am Hua Hin Statement on Asean Plus Three Cooperation on Food Security and Bio-Energy Development, Cha-am Hua Hin Statement on East Asia Summit Disaster Management, Joint Press Release of the 4th East Asia Summit on the Revival of Nalanda University and Statement to Celebrate the Completion and Entry into Force of the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).

In addition, the Asean foreign ministers will sign the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of Asean and Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing the Asean-China Centre.

The Asean economic ministers will sign the Memorandum of Understanding between Asean and China on Cooperation in the Field of Intellectual Property and Memorandum of Understanding between Asean and China on Strengthening Cooperation in the Field of Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment.

At the sidelines of the summit, the Asean leaders will also have informal meetings with representatives from the Asean Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, Youth and Civil Society Organisations to enhance dialogue and public participation in line with the efforts to transform Asean into a people-oriented organisation.

India's VMU Looks At Malaysia As Strategic Investment Destination

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 (Bernama) -- With plans for the relaxation of rules on foreign equity ownership in the services sector, Vinayaka Missions University (VMU) of India said the group now has greater incentives to continue looking at Malaysia as a strategic investment destination.

The leading educational group from India with investments in Malaysia welcomes the statement by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed that the government may relax rules on foreign equity ownership in the services sector to attract more Indian investors to Malaysia.

VMU pro-chancellor Datuk Dr S. Sharavanan said liberalising foreign equity ownership by Indian investors in the services sector would have a positive impact in attracting Indian investments to Malaysia.

"We at VMU view Malaysia as a strategic location to invest, especially with the government's push towards creating an education hub in the region. We certainly have ambitious plans in Malaysia," he said in a statement on Thursday.

Sharavanan, who is based in Malaysia, said the group's priority outside India over the next few years is Malaysia in terms of foreign direct investment and that the country will also be number two (after India) in terms of revenue generation for years to come.

VMU, which currently operates the Penang International Dental College (PIDC) and Surya College in Penang, has plans to emerge as an established brand in the field of higher education by 2015 with a planned investment of RM260 million over five years, making it the group's biggest investment abroad.

The group, founded 26 years ago, also operates campuses in India, Thailand, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.

Sharavanan sees Malaysia as an ideal location to attract students from the region, including India and China, having the advantage in terms of location, logistics and world-class infrastructure besides enjoying the lower cost of getting quality education at its facilities here.

Economist: Spend more to develop human capital and infrastructure

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s medium to long term growth potential will be better served by more spending to develop human capital and physical infrastructure in order to be competitive, says Asian Development Bank (ADB) chief economist Dr Jong-Wha Lee.

Budget 2010, which is scheduled to be announced on Friday, has been speculated to reflect the 1Malaysia concept besides having a lower operating expenditure due to the higher fiscal deficit this year.

Malaysian Institute of Economic Research executive director Datuk Mohamed Ariff Abdul Kareem had said last week that this year’s fiscal deficit would be slightly higher than the Government’s estimate of 7.6% due to lower income tax collection and expected reduction in corporate tax rates.

Lee said on the sidelines of a conference of the ADB, Bank Negara and the European Union that the two areas in which Malaysia could improve on were human capital and infrastructure. He said this was part of the restructuring and rebalancing that export-reliant regional economies including Malaysia would have to go through to see medium to long-term growth.

Lee said Malaysia would have to improve its human capital before it could move up the value chain in terms of economic development.

“The role of the education system is very important and so is research and development to build a technology platform for the move up,” he said.

He said that as the fiscal deficit was high, there was a need to efficiently allocate resources and spending given the limited scope for fiscal expansion. He said Malaysia could maintain spending on infrastructure as the country’s debt to gross domestic product ratio was still manageable.

“There’s not much room to manoeuvre but Malaysia must still address short-term recovery issues besides addressing mid-term objectives as well as social objectives such as all-inclusive growth,” he said.