I am deeply honoured to be given the opportunity to speak before this august audience of the crème de la crème of Malaysian academicians and educators.

The disparate and dynamic global landscape behooves us to undertake the necessary transformations in all aspects of life, particularly education, and in this context, Higher Education. However, in our on-going efforts to attain excellence and create a world-class higher educational hub in this region, we, especially those of us who are involved in the policy-making process, need to be cognizant of the fact that a balance needs to be struck between physical and spiritual development.

Apart from this, we also need to be aware of the uncertain global economic concerns that threaten to overwhelm, not only the developing countries like ours, but also the so-called ‘superior’ nations like the US and Europe which have been called the 3F (food, fuel and finance) nations. To address such issues requires us to develop strategies and plans which will not only effectively deal with these problems, but also enable us to attain a status where we can be on par with the developed nations, and become key players in the global economic scenario.

The task before us is neither easy nor simple, but we have to rally all the forces at our disposal to make our voice heard both regionally and internationally; to make Malaysia a force to be reckoned with in the international socio-economic arena.

The nature and pragmatics of the global socio-economic context has changed so much that it is no longer subject to the vagaries of politics or subject to the whims and fancies of industrial giants. Now, socio-economic greatness lies with those nations who can boast of excellent human capital; people who are not just knowledgeable but whose knowledge is viable and transferable. These are the new players in the chess game of world economic domination. The status and success of a nation in the international arena lies with knowledgeable and disciplined human capital who are constantly innovating and reinventing themselves to keep pace with the dynamic nature of global economic revolution.

This is where you, as the leaders and administrators of Higher Education Institutions, come in. This is your domain, your area of expertise. The institutions you lead are now the powerhouses of the new economic order. Your institutions have to generate the human capital necessary to this nation’s development and progress. This is your moment. CARPE DIEM Seize the day!! We need you to administer and lead your respective institutions in such a way that, at the end of the day, the graduates produced will be able to fulfill the nation’s aspirations and vision.

The Ministry has worked on and produced for use the National Higher Education Strategic Plan Beyond 2020, which outlines in detail the critical agendas, which currently number 17 in total, some of which have already been launched and are up and running.

The National Higher Education Action Plan or Pelan Tindakan Pendidikan Tinggi Negara (PSPTN) states that the scope of authority and the administrative role of the Board of Directors, Senate and the Vice Chancellors enables them to implement and enforce the policies pertaining to the smooth running of the universities and other Higher Education Institutions. In this context, it is worth noting that, the complexities inherent in the governance of a university can be likened to that involved in the governance of a country, where most times, the use of raw force or purely rational-legal reasoning suffices.

In this context, it is to be noted that, the Board of Directors as well as the Vice-Chancellors have been invested with the authority to do whatever is necessary to administer, implement and endorse any plan of action they deem fit to ensure that the mission and vision of the universities are fulfilled.

In line with this, the proposed amendments to the AUKU have been structured in tandem with the objectives of the National Higher Education Strategic Plan which, among others, has been designed to strengthen and fortify the Higher Education Institutions in the country, intensify internationalization, and reinforce MOHE’s delivery systems. All this will be realized through the triple-pronged “3A” system focusing on Apex, Autonomy, and Audit. The provision of autonomy will enable Higher Education Institutions to attain excellence in aspects such as teaching AND learning, research AND development, strengthening of governance systems, enhancement of accountability, and intensifying internationalization. These amendments, once endorsed by Parliament, will provide Higher Education Institutions a measure of autonomy founded on accountability. These amendments will also clarify in greater detail the roles and scope of authority vested in the Board of Directors, the Senate and the Vice Chancellors to enhance the process and procedures involved in the governance of Higher Education Institutions. One of the amendments related to the role of the Vice Chancellors is that although they are to function as CEO of the institutions, they are directly responsible to and answerable for all their actions to the Board of Directors and the Senate. The amendments have made provisions for the Board of Directors to appoint a(n ad-hoc) committees to assist with its duties and to generate resources for the running of the universities. In order to ensure that accountability is prioritized, the establishment of a Legal Advisory Committee has also been proposed. The Ministry of Higher Education is of the opinion that such Legal Advisory committees should be established to ensure that Higher Education Institutions are being governered in accordance with the legislative and legal bounds set by the government.

The leaders and citizens of Higher Education Institutions must be cognizant of the new and increasingly complex realities before us, and in order to address these challenges, a structured, well-defined, and strategically-devised plan is required. Such a plan, the seeds of which sowed systematically and continually, is definite to reap the harvest we desire; that is human capital with a first-class mentality enabling this nation to stand shoulder to shoulder with the intellectual and economic giants of the world.

As the leaders of the Higher Education Institutions who have to produce the human capital required, the Higher Education Action Plan stipulates that the members of the Board have to be professionals of the highest caliber with complete authority to govern, using the adequate and proper administrative principles and processes, as applied in corporate organizations. The revamped Board of Directors will need to ensure their efficacy by becoming pro-active in their discharge of their duties and responsibilities. They will need to work hand-in-glove with the university administration personnel to achieve the universities’ mission and vision. The Board will also need to oversee that the choice and placement of leaders is transparent as stipulated in the Higher Education Action Plan.

The university can be likened to a Persian rug, interwoven with threads of a myriad colors reflecting the richness and diversity of the various fields of knowledge. As you know, Persian rugs are priceless and need to be well-looked. Universities too require the right kind of care; the right combination and application of intellectual, rational, critical, and logical thinking engenders confidence in the leadership and inspires the university as a body of people to attain the heights of excellence in their respective disciplines. In accordance with this, the leadership in HEIs must demonstrate the following attributes;

  • Visionary, highly motivated, confident, and committed to the attainment of excellence in academic endeavours
  • Far-sighted and skilled in strategic planning, human resource and financial management, risk, change, and audit management
  • Impeccable personal credentials in terms of integrity and character.
It is hoped that with this transformation, the Higher Education Institutions will generate more research-driven innovations that can encourage the commercialization of products and value-added services. In addition, the Higher Education Institutions are also expected to pioneer and disseminate new knowledge which can lead to discoveries and inventions beneficial to society s a whole. In order to produce the right quality and quantity of human capital, the transformation of Higher Education Institutions emphasizes 5 crucial factors;
  • Administration
  • Leadership
  • Academia
  • Teaching & Learning
  • Research & Development
In addition to the provision of systematic and integrated implementation plans to ensure the success of the objectives set out in the National Higher Education Action Plan, KPIs or Key Performance Indicators have provided benchmarks of success to oversee the progress in the overall transformational efforts undertaken by the Higher Education Institutions. The following are some of the critical areas which the Higher Education leadership needs to prioritise;
  • Identification and specification of the leadership roles in public Higher Education Institutions
  • Formulation of satisfactory processes in the selection, development, evaluation, and regeneration of the universities’ top leadership
  • Development of adequate training programs to unearth and shortlist candidates with potential leadership qualities
In relation to this issue, in order to ascertain that the evaluation of candidates is objective and transparent, relevant performance indicators need to be instituted for the Chairman and members of the Board of Directors as well as the Vice-Chancellors. It is also recommended that the top leadership of public Higher Education Institutions reflect the following 3 leadership attributes:
  • Depth and breadth of understanding regarding the roles of Higher Education Institutions in the 21 century ,especially in the current context of global reformation
  • Capability to create financially-independent universities
  • Capability and versatility to create a new vision and mission, with the ability to activate the university populace into embracing global synergy and dynamism via excellence, and diversity
Thus, it is of utmost importance that the essence of these two plans, National Higher Education Action Plan and the National Higher Education Strategic Plan is distilled and absorbed by all those directly or indirectly involved with the administration and management of Higher Education Institutions. Your commitment to the objectives of these plans need to be complete and continuous whereby you, in your roles as the top people in your institutions, must ensure that everyone in your institution from the academic to the support staff have been made aware of and realize the importance of these two plans You, Ladies and Gentleman, are the engines of change charged with the transformation of Higher Education Institutions in this country.

I believe that we should harness the challenges inherent in this period of change and transformation, to uplift the status and standing of our universities via international networking and lingkages by embarking on collaborative research efforts resulting in impacts that will be felt on a global scale. Such collaborative efforts could also encompass the review and refining of processes and approaches related to teaching and learning. Apart from the internship, entrepreneurial and training stints, the embedding of softskills in our graduates as a value-added commodity will go a long way towards enhancing their employability quotient. It is in this aspect that the leadership of Higher Education Institutions have to demonstrate their versatility and creativity in maximizing the opportunities available in internationalization to graduates and industries.

As you can see LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, the challenges that await the leaders of Higher Education Institutions require a much more holistic, focused, and structured training program that will provide the exposure needed to the current and budding leaders enabling them to become more cognizant and capable of handling these challenges as they arise.

One of the transformational initiatives launched recently involves the APEX initiative which provides for the government-aided, fast-track transformation of a university to attain world-class status within a very short time frame. It is hoped that this kind of fast-track transformation will push the other universities to adopt a similar stance to achieving world-class status. This APEX (Accelerated Program for Excellence) places the selected institution or institutions at the apex of the HEI pyramid and some of the defining criteria for the APEX status include outstanding leadership, faculties, student body, and infrastructure. APEX universities need to be administered and managed by visionary, versatile, motivated leaders committed to intellectual and academic advancement. They would need to reflect the excellence they require from their staff and know how to optimize their universities human resources and assets. They would need to be highly motivated themselves in order to motivate others to heights of excellence.

Universities are now require to emulate global best practices related to administration and management, teaching and learning, research and development, student enrolment, and financial housekeeping. Excellence and committed work ethic needs to be sowed early and the APEX university selection process underlines the need to be aware of all these factors, where state of readiness and transformational strategies can be studied via proposals and defense mechanisms, and the preparedness for change can be observed closely through site visits.

The government allocation for students pursuing higher studies, both nationally and internationally, runs into billions of ringgit. The MyBrains15 program, introduced by the Ministry, is a critical agenda outlined in the National Higher Education Action Plan. The objective of this program is to generate a pool of PhDs trained to generate innovative ideas that could benefit the nation’s economy. Collaborative programs between Malaysian students and students of outstanding research universities should be strategized and encouraged. Universities should also offer doctoral study scholarships focusing on more indigenous-based industries and other non-conventional modes of doctoral research such as those involving industrial applied research. More industry linkage is encouraged to provide the academics with the exposure to the demands and requirements of the industries and to research areas relevant to industry needs. As a start, universities are encouraged to apply a ratio of 1:5 of supervisor and doctoral students with the provision that the supervisors are of a high caliber.

Up to now, the investment in education has been directly reflected in the national economy. Still, greater levels of competiveness can be attained through constant improvements as the input indicators for national R&D reveals that we are still lagging far behind compared to other nations. Collaboration between universities and commercial research centres can enhance the MYbrain15 achievements. This program also recommends that academics who have a proven track record in commercializing and patenting their products should be rewarded with incentives and universities should also focus on sponsoring research that will generate beneficial discoveries and inventions with the aim of claiming the ‘’oscar” of the academic world, ie the Nobel Prize by 2020.

In order for this transformational plan to succeed, it is imperative that all concerned should embrace and support the culture of change which this plan aims to produce. As the agent of change, the Higher Education Institutions must be motivated to transform into the institutions that can produce the ‘goods’. As Tom Cruise so succinctly said in the Movie Jerry Macquire “Show me the money”,

The Ministry asks you to “show us the human capital” which this country needs. Individualistic, despotic, and autocratic styles of management are outdated and indeed outlawed as far as the Ministry is concerned and should be replaced with team spirit, and cooperation working together, committed and consistent to achieve the universities’ mission and vision. The kingpin holding all this together is the enculturalization of quality as the bedrock underpinning all the policies, processes, and programs in the Higher Education Institutions.

What I hope to see is the realization of the Strategic Plan in the running of the Higher Education Institutions. The Ministry is ever ready to supply all the incentives for the Higher Education Institutions that require them and targets set will be subject to annual reviews to ensure that improvements are continuous.

We need to move in tandem with industries and markets. We need to become competitive in the arena of Higher Education in this region, and be on par with Higher Education in the rest of the world as it blitzes its way to new heights of excellence.

Last but not least, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, I would like to express my congratulations to the organizing committee for organizing this timely event and I would like to conclude by asking all of you to ponder and reflect upon the issues discussed today and come up with a strategic plan to transform Higher Education in this country so that it can fulfill the aspirations of the nation.

Thank you.

Y.B Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin
MINISTER OF HIGHER EDUCATION