A world class Malaysian university

What would it take for a Malaysian university to be among the top 100 universities in Asia? The Times Higher Education World University Rankings compares university performance across their core missions - teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook using 13 performance indicators. There is no Malaysian university in the top 100 in Asia compared to two universities from Singapore and surprisingly two from Thailand.

 

What is preventing our universities from being globally competitive? Surely it is not the shortage of resources: Malaysian public universities received almost 25% of the total expenditure on education and training (about RM 12 billion in 2013). Yet surveys show that more than 25% of university graduates in 2012 had not secured a job 6 months after graduation. At the same time, Malaysian employers are lamenting a shortage of talent as a major constraint in growing their business. There is evidently a mismatch between what the local universities are producing and what the labor market needs leading to underemployment and frustration amongst university graduates. Many of them turn to the public sector for employment which means that the public sector is not attracting the best and brightest talent.

 

Then there are the over 56,000 Malaysian students studying in foreign universities, many of whom are likely to be excellent students and a number of whom are also sponsored through Government scholarships. There are no publicly available tracer studies on the career prospects of these students and their competitiveness in the labor market compared to the graduates of Malaysian universities (one can however speculate that they are likely to be more competitive). Access to university education for young Malaysians is unequal and largely influenced by household income: while 40% of young adults from the top quintile of Malaysians (by household income) have a university degree, only 5% from the bottom 60% have a degree.

 

The challenge for Malaysia therefore is both to expand opportunities for all Malaysians to have a university education as well as improve the quality and relevance of university education. There are obvious areas for improvement focusing on creating a more meritocratic and open culture in universities. This requires a fundamental reform of the university system starting with the Ministry of Higher Education. However that may be too ambitious an undertaking and it may be more pragmatic to focus efforts on one university as a pilot. This would require revamping the university leadership, recruiting and rewarding the best academics and researchers irrespective of their origin or ethnicity, selecting the best qualified students and establishing a culture of excellence in research and teaching, learning from the best experiences in the world. Above all, the Government needs to realize that throwing more money at the current system and seeking band aid fixes without fundamental reforms is unlikely to get any lasting or meaningful impacts.

Malaysians deserve better education

The Low Yat incident has brought into sharp focus how our education system is failing Malaysians. Half of Malaysian 15 year olds are functionally illiterate. At the same time, half of Malaysian employers in a recent survey identified the shortage of talent as a constraint for future economic growth. The under-schooled youth end up in the job market with low basic numeracy and literacy skills and with little if any communication or problem-solving abilities. Yet they live in a society that is visibly prosperous and of course they want their share of the good life. Being unemployed or under employed, this group of Malaysian youth is ripe for recruitment by the criminal fringe elements which promise them the wealth and status that they know they cannot get otherwise.


Clearly the national educational system has failed these Malaysian youth. While we lament over how poorly Malaysian kids are performing in global standardized testing, there is a clear correlation between socio-economic status and educational performance with the schools catering for poorer Malaysians being more likely to be under resourced and under managed. Access is still a challenge: about a third of kids from rural households live more than 5 km away from the nearest secondary school.

The quality of teaching and school leadership and management remains a significant challenge. The respect and social status enjoyed by teachers and school heads has eroded over the years. The blatant politicization of the educational system has not only marginalized non-Malay teachers and parents but also disillusioned all teachers who are committed to excellence. Mediocrity and group thinking in schools has overshadowed innovation and passion and it is not surprising that the cream of Malaysian school leavers do not view teaching as a preferred career option. Most tragically, the education system has failed in creating an integrated, inclusive Malaysian society and is more ethnically and socially polarized today than at independence.

The Low Yat rioters and the many others like them, irrespective of ethnicity, are a product of a school system that is simply broken. Clearly it is not a problem of a lack of resources but effectiveness of delivery and results. In 2013, the Government spent about RM54 billion on education and training of which around 10% was on post-secondary technical, vocational training and labor market programs. It is time we take a hard look at the effectiveness of this considerable public spending.  To start with perhaps we need a more reform minded Minister of Education who has a stellar track record as an educationist and who is committed to excellence irrespective of ethnicity and political affiliations.

Overpaid lawmakers?

Recent statistics from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) reveal that one third of Malaysian workers earn less than RM 1,000 per month and about 40% earn less than RM 2000 per month. The lower wage growth for low income wage earners occurs in an environment of stagnant wage share of national income. The wage share of national income has actually declined from 33.8% in 1970 to 32.9% in 2012 while at the same time corporate profits increased from 50% to 67% of national income. There is a clear disparity between labor productivity and wages. Annual wage growth is about 2.6% despite labor productivity increasing at 6.7% which reveals labor market inefficiencies and depressed wages due to weakened collective bargaining power and poorly regulated migrant labor. This is a critical challenge which we need to be concerned about for sustained productivity-led growth.

Contrast this with the recent hefty salary increases that our lawmakers awarded themselves (presumably in rare unanimity between the ruling and opposition lawmakers). The new monthly salary of about RM 16,000 which supplemented by allowances could reportedly be up to RM 35,000 does seem extravagant especially given the current economic challenges and the national debate on GST and the minimum wage. In very simple terms, this means that a typical Wakil Rakyat will earn about 18 times more than the typical worker in his or her constituency. To stretch this point a bit further, an elected representative could take home about 40 times the national minimum monthly wage.

The rationale for the increase is to quote the Minister: “the duty of MPs is getting heavier in carrying out the high hopes of the people, and the increase will boost the spirit of the elected representatives to work with more commitment and dedication”. Presumably this heavier duty includes staying awake in the middle of the night to sneak through repressive legislation to further stifle fundamental liberties of the people who elected them in the first place. One would think that elected representatives who lack commitment and dedication will be booted out by their constituents and that should be sufficient incentive to boost their spirits. Not to mention the lucrative licenses, contracts, business deals and other rewards that at least most BN MPs seem to consider as their entitlement.

There is no question that our lawmakers need to be compensated appropriately especially in order to discourage corruption. Not to begrudge the salary increases but I think it is only fair that we demand more from them. To start with, every elected representative needs to publicly declare his or her wealth and income. It would also help to have transparent performance metrics such as an annual report card so that the electorate can tell which representative lacks commitment and dedication. And yes, presumably lawmakers will be equally generous when they decide on what the new national minimum wage should be this year.

 

Who is running Malaysia?

At first glance, it would appear that the Inspector General of Police (IGP) is running Malaysia. But surely he must be taking his instructions from somewhere given his slavish subservience to UMNO interests. In any case, the fig leave of moderation has dropped and the dust knuckles have come out. The beleaguered UMNO leadership is revealing its true colors and displaying fangs and claws to intimidate Malaysians into submission. Led by perhaps the most incompetent IGP in Malaysian history, the police force seems to have become a complete tool of UMNO interests with little regard for due process or professionalism. The roster of Malaysians arrested and charged for sedition or illegal assembly reads like a roll of honor of courageous Malaysians who are struggling to save the country from the tyranny of the UMNO/BN government.

The Prime Minister has gone back on his words to repeal the Sedition Act 1948. Instead the amended Act is a greater threat to fundamental Constitutional rights and is clearly being abused to silence any form of criticism or dissent. The Home Minister (whose incompetence rivals that of the IGP) justified the amendments as necessary to address social media threats and to prevent separation of states and handle offenses that could lead to property damage. Perhaps he should be urging the Government to address the root causes of dissatisfaction across the South China Sea (see earlier posts). There are already adequate laws to address property damage and why is the Government so fearful of social media if they have nothing to hide?

And then we have the Prevention of Terrorism Act or POTA which was sneaked through Parliament while Malaysians were literally asleep. The brilliance of the Home Minister was at full display when he said POTA, which allows detention without trial, was to detain Malaysians fighting for the Islamic State (IS) to be detained immediately upon their return to Malaysia. He was admitting that while he and the police were sleeping on their jobs, Malaysians were being actively recruited by IS. Here again, he should be urging the Government to understand the root causes of why some young Malaysian Muslims find the psychopathic IS attractive. Take the Malaysian fringe group calling themselves Hizbut Tahrir who want a Islamic caliphate in Malaysia because Parliamentarians recently gave themselves huge pay rises while ordinary Malaysians were being saddled with the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

The UMNO/BN government may think that by increasing oppression and silencing dissent, they can avoid difficult reforms to tackle mismanagement, corruption and inequality in Malaysia. The folks like Hizbut Tahrir, no matter how misguided, are a reminder that unless these root causes of dissatisfaction are addressed and there is adequate democratic space for dissent, there are global actors who are ready to take Malaysia down the path of ruin.

The hypocrisy of hudud in Kelantan

The Kelantan Chief Minister, Ahmad Yaakob, must be relishing his success. He was able to get 13 Muslim assemblymen from UMNO and PKR to unanimously vote for the amendment to the Syariah Criminal Code 1993 to implement hudud law. He also succeeded in creating further polarization and anguish amongst all Malaysians while thumbing his nose at the Malaysian Constitution. Clearly Ahmad Yaakob and his proxies do not believe in an inclusive Malaysia (and I am sure he does not read my blog). I wish he would though as he might just be reminded of a thing or two.

Kelantan remains the poorest state in Malaysia due to the incompetence and misrule of Ahmad Yaakob and his predecessors fueled by the political chicanery between UMNO and PAS. The average household income in Kelantan today is the lowest in Malaysia and is about a third of a household in Kuala Lumpur. Kelantan has the highest infant mortality rate in the country. The risk of a new born child in Kelantan to die before reaching age 5 is twice higher than that of a child in Kuala Lumpur. By very conservative estimates, 15% of children in Kelantan live in poverty while at least 7% are under-nourished. There is one doctor in Kelantan for every 500 children (compared to one doctor for 80 children in Kuala Lumpur).

Instead of proper nutrition, health care, quality infrastructure, education, skills, jobs and higher income, the poor in Kelantan can instead now look forward to hudud law. There is no evidence that Kelantan has a dramatically higher rate of hudud crimes than the rest of Malaysia. Nor is there any evidence that Muslims in Kelantan have a higher proclivity towards fornication, homosexuality, alcohol consumption, apostasy and stealing thus requiring draconian deterrent punishments to keep them in line.

On the other hand, Kelantan’s poverty is in shocking contrast to the oil revenues flowing from the state to the coffers in Putrajaya. It is estimated that at least RM 1 billion in oil revenues that rightfully belong to the people of Kelantan is being denied them by the BN government (read UMNO). One would think that this would be the priority of Ahmad Yaakob and his assemblymen, voting unanimously across party lines to seek legal recourse to recover the state’s wealth to improve the lives of the poor rather than impose medieval punishment on them.

Under the misrule of the supposedly pious and spiritual leadership, the rich cultural heritage of Kelantan embodied in such arts as wayang kulit, mak yong and dikir barat has been systematically denigrated. Instead, the Muslims in Kelantan are being directed to look towards the likes of Saudi Arabia, Iran and Afghanistan to emulate cultural practices that are completely alien to Malay traditions. In the meantime, Kelantan’s rich biodiversity is being destroyed and the poor bear the brunt of devastating floods caused by the wanton destruction of watershed areas due to state sanctioned logging, poor planning and weak control of development.

It is time for the people of Kelantan to reject the hypocrisy of Ahmad Yaakob and his kind and punish them in the next elections. Kelantan does not deserve to be marginalized from the rest of Malaysia.

Who is plundering Malaysia’s wealth?

A staggering total of US$395 billion was siphoned out of Malaysia in illicit financial flows in 2003-2012.  Malaysia has the ignominy of being the top fifth country globally for illicit financial outflows (India nudged Malaysia from 4th to 5th place in 2014). According to the Global Financial Integrity report, Malaysia alone contributes to 6% of the total global illicit flows from all developing countries.

Putting it another way, for every US$1.0 of foreign direct investment that Malaysia received in 2012, US$5.0 was being smuggled out of the country. This is only a conservative estimate as the methodology to estimate the outflows is very rigorous based on reported balance of payment and trade statistics (www.glofintegrity.org has the details). Close to 20% of Malaysia’s GDP is being stolen and spirited away overseas and kept in safe havens as either cash or invested in assets. While the volumes have been declining since 2010, the question is how can such plunder on a national nay international scale, mostly through deliberate trade misinvoicing, escape the notice of Bank Negara, the Royal Malaysian Customs and the Royal Malaysian Police.

Let us look at another recent revelation through secret Swiss banking files of 30,000 accounts that were leaked last week (the Swiss Leaks). Malaysia is ranked 87 among the countries with the largest dollar amounts stashed away with one notable Malaysian who has squirreled away US$68 million. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has named a member of the Pahang royal family. Unfortunately the ICIJ site www.icij.org  does not allow access to country level data which will reveal who are the other Malaysian luminaries who prefer to keep their money in secret accounts in Switzerland rather than in Malaysia.

Given that the top 10% own 40% of the total wealth of Malaysia (see previous post), we can safely assume that it is not the average struggling Malaysian taxpayer who is stealing the national wealth. Let me offer some questions to the Inspector General of Police and the Governor of Bank Negara. Which Malaysia based individuals and firms are well positioned to carry out trade invoice shenanigans? How many of these are either proxies or linked in some form to the Barisan National political parties and networks? How many current or former Malaysian political leaders have interests in these businesses? How can such a huge amount of money leave Malaysia without the tacit complicity of the authorities? I can't wait for a tweet on these questions from the Inspector General of Police.

Repeal Section 377

The jailing of Anwar Ibrahim for allegedly consensual sex with an adult male puts Malaysia in the spotlight for being rabidly homophobic. Whether Anwar is guilty or innocent of this charge is not the issue here (although the tainted court process and evidence of political chicanery has put Malaysia’s entire judiciary on trial, never mind the credibility of the Government). The real question is why is consensual sex between two adults of the same sex a heinous crime in Malaysia?

To put it simply, Anwar is in jail today because of the British colonial Raj in India. The British Raj introduced Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code which was drafted in 1860! So 155 years later, in the age of Fifty Shades of Grey, poor Anwar is being subject to the moral rectitude of the British Raj. Section 377 of Malaysia’s Penal Code modeled after the Indian Penal Code (note the same section number!) criminalizes carnal intercourse against the order of nature i.e. oral and anal sex. Yes even oral sex between heterosexual adults.

So clearly we have an antiquated law. But how many times has this law been enforced in Malaysian history? According to Simranjit Kaur Gill, there have been a grand total of seven charges brought under this law since 1938. Four out of these seven charges were connected to Anwar! Hmmm….do the words selective prosecution, abuse of the legal process, witch hunt and political persecution come to mind?

What have the Indians done with their Section 377 of the Penal Code which was the fountain of the sodomy laws for the Commonwealth? Why, they repealed it of course: in 2009. Two years earlier, Singapore modified Section 377a of their Penal Code to exclude consensual oral and anal sex (well in typical Singaporean fashion of course). So where does that leave Malaysia?

Leaving religion out of the bedroom (I know I know…JAKIM would have less to do) and with apologies to the Sharia fans out there (sorry folks stoning and decapitation are so retro), it is time to follow the Indians (there has been no surge in homosexuality in India since 2009 and the right wing Hindus there are as equally worked up over sexual morality as our Malaysian Sharia advocates).

So let us repeal Section 377….and free Anwar, taking another step towards a more inclusive Malaysia.