9th Education Malaysian Education Summit

Addressed by Professor Emeritus Tan Sri Dato’ Dr Lim Kok Wing
22 March 2005

In recent years, especially in recent months so much has been said about the potential of Malaysia becoming a major provider of education to the world market.

Even more has been said about the problems and challenges that we must overcome if we were to succeed in the long term.

We have had many summits, many closed door meetings, yet many questions have remained. Do we have what it takes to become a country brand of choice for education ?

How committed is our Government to achieving this lofty objective ? Because it does mean making substantive shifts and changes to current systems and policies.

How prepared are private universities and colleges to take on such a major undertaking, to take on the competition, to take on the heavy responsibility of building centres of excellence, not just centres of profitability ?

To walk us through some of these issues and questions, we have with us 4 individuals who have distinguished themselves as academic leaders deserving of respect and admiration, and our full attention when they speak :

Let me introduce to you

• Prof. Dr Mohd Ismail Sayeed Ahmed
  Vice President 2
  Multimedia University
• Dr. Khong Kim Hoong
  Academic Director
  Help University College
• Prof. Dr V. G. Kumar Das
  Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive
  Asian Institute of Medicine, Science & Technology
• Dr. Maznah Ismail
  Head of R&D
  Sunway University College

As captains of major institutions, they are the very individuals whose views will have an impact on our success or failure; on the final outcome of our country′s quest to be an international centre of excellence in education.

Each of them will speak for 15 minutes, after which I shall open it to the floor for questions and observations.

May I now call upon our first speaker, Prof Dr Mohd Ismail Sayeed Ahmed, Vice President of Multimedia University, to make his presentation.

Ladies and gentleman, it is now my pleasure to invite questions and observations from the floor.

Please state your name and the institution you represent before you get going.