Comments on: What is USM trying to do?

By: Alternative take on USM expansion | Vollok.com

Alternative take on USM expansion | Vollok.com — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 20:09:57 +0000

[...] already said earlier. While my take is slightly more positive, here’s a very negative opinion on the project written by Anil Netto. Anil is right to be skeptical of such ambitious plans in the [...]

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By: tomatoh

tomatoh — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 06:08:24 +0000

surely there are a few at USM that actually do great work for the community!

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By: karma

karma — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 04:08:02 +0000

Using all these bombastic terms is only a show. Academics are good at this. The late Lim of Genting would never listen to academics. He even defied an engineer with his experience In a cynical way he once said, “I learn nothing from them for the practical world. Anyway,I respect them as they can talk.” Thus, the content is nil. The form is there. The substance is missing. Our universities are good at that. With the quality of academics we have, we can achieve no breakthroughs this century. It’s all rhetoric by academics and they are good at spending taxpayers’ money with no tangible returns.

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By: karma

karma — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:56:14 +0000

Capable people these days do not spend thousands of dollars going to universities to earn a degree. This is too conventional. It’s a waste of money. You don’t even have to go aconventional university to study courses in the arts. Education can easily be supervised through distance or virtual learning these days. Conventional education is very commercialised and money has become the target. Why pay thousands of dollars on university education when more effective ways of gaining knowledge can be done through virtual or distance learning. If a person is determined and sincerely wants to seek knowledge just go for virtual learning. IF you are good, you are good no matter how you approach education. Why pay so much to maintain universities – electric bills, sports complexes, the water bills, the “professors’” pay, the maintenance of buildings? Do these expenses contribute to learning? Wise people these days prefer to pay less for education. The computer and the Internet have brought education to our doors. Make full use of these facilities – there is an ocean of knowledge found in the Internet that cannot be found in a single university in this world. The paradigm of seeking an education has changed. Soon many conventional university courses will become “dinosaurs” as it’s sheer waste of money to maintain them. People prefer not to go to a conventional university and spend so much money for “soft” education. Today, people all around the world are going virtual with the Internet and this has become a trend, more effective and cheaper. Another issue the people just find it hard to understand is the quality of professors in some universities. There are local vice chancellors and “dons” given the title “professor” but have not written a single paper. These “dons” are sitting on their titles. Some fear writing papers as there is no quality in what they write. These are the “dons” who supervise Masters’ and PhD students. We churn out graduates with Masters and PhDs that nobody would want outside the country. There was this person from Bangladesh who conmpleted his “PhD” in a Malaysian university. He is now a cab driver in Canada. Many foreigners are finding themselves in this situation. Those earning degrees in the country find it hard to “sell themselves” in other countries. Even when a degree is earned from a mediocre university in England or the US, it is more “sellable” in most countries than the local degrees. For rhis reason many have lost confidence in conventional education that we offer. They are shifting their approach to learning. They prefer to earn degrees from overseas. When they cannot afford to spend so much money to go overseas, they rely on distance learning as an alternative. This works perfectly right for many, as long as they earn a degree from overseas. What matters is, at the end of the day knowledge is acquired and this can only be determined by one’s performance in society.

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By: USM exSTUDENT

USM exSTUDENT — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:45:28 +0000

sad to see comment produced by all of these so call Malaysian young generation. Full of complaint, no content. Instead of throwing negative and empty comment here, why not go and do something more useful? One of the bad thing about Malaysian education is to produce bunch of negative thinking student that will only complaint but not try to make a difference.

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By: malayguy

malayguy — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 07:41:31 +0000

The intention is noble, but it is utterly misplaced. Whilst there’s nothing wrong with fostering synergies between a university and the industries, and erecting shiny new buildings, you have to question if the money could be better spent elsewhere.

A more fruitful approach would be a fundamental shift in educational policies to encourage (or coerce even, knowing Malaysian students) spirit of entrepreneurial and inquiry. What is the sense in plonking for a shiny arts centre if there are no artists to utilise it?

The scale of this ambition ought to be revised to a more sensible proportion. Who, pray tell, would require a boutique hotel, which the cynical side of me would venture to guess would be run by a cashed up crony?

This piece of news prompts questions with regards to the educational ethos of USM, and that of the wider sector. This is another example of ostentation and vanity of politicians taking priority over the quality of graduates that USM turn out and megalomaniac ambitions superceding the quality of lecturers and researchers that are being let loose into our most venerated higher education institutions.

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By: usm student

usm student — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 09:20:44 +0000

hey all…cut d crap off..what are these polytical issues..we r discussing about the usm project,so put all the polytical outside!!!

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By: Andrew

Andrew — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 17:09:54 +0000

Albert, getting your priorities right and balancing it out is what it’s really all about. Technology advances everyday but do we have the ability to sustain our efforts? Why don’t you talk to people who really are in the know, like recruiters working in the factories in Bayan Lepas? Ask them about the quality of the interns from USM and you’ll get a pretty grim assessment.

The development of a nation cannot be measured solely by the number of buildings and state of the art facilities you can put up. The problem is this is used to mask all our other shortcomings. It might sound condescending but have you seen an uneducated person trying to use the latest mobile device? He can afford it without a doubt, but to what end?

As educated people, don’t you think we should try to do something about this? Common sense is not so common, as you will find out later in life.

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By: accountability please

accountability please — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:01:57 +0000

What’s the point of building first class infrastructure (going by BN’s record, usually built by foreigners using rakyat’s money) when there is a MASSIVE brain drain going on right at our doorstep? Keep the brains in first, before talking about BIG GRAND projects lah.

Sure, keep on building infrastructure and educational facilities …but what did this produce? Brilliant scientists and engineers? Which MEGASTRUCTURE in Malaysia can we boast is truly Malaysian-constructed? SO SAD

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By: Albert

Albert — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:13:28 +0000

My dear Anil, sorry to say this, but you are too old to understand all this. Please don’t apply any laid-back mentality when discussing technology development, especially when we are putting ourselves with rest of the world. So most of the critics here (if they qualify to be called that way), these people is one of the reason why Malaysia is still lagging when we talk about R&D and university rankings. They simply bash blatantly, knowing themselves they are inferior in the relevant fields.

This is the way to go if we want to lift our research capabilities, please drop away 3rd world mentality, that big money shouldn’t be spent, that we could always start small, perhaps in a shack?

Just imagine, if the VC of USM do take all this criticisms as the wish of the Rakyat and obey the Rakyat, we will still be at square 1 for the next 20 years. I bet he won’t do such stupid thing, I have high respect on this guy.

Guys, PORR & Monorail no more, you still want to lose this R&D haven? What are we left? A scenic, tranquil fishing village, perhaps?

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