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HIGHER EDUCATION IN MALAYSIA

Access, Equity and Quality

Hena Mukherjee, Jasbir S. Singh, Rozilini M.

Fernandez-Chung and T. Marimuthu

BACKGROUND

Since independence in 1957, Malaysia has transformed itself from an

agrarian to an increasingly industrial and globalized economy. Malaysia

was formed in 1963 comprising Malaya, Sabah, Sarawak and Singapore,

with the last leaving the group in 1965. In the country of 30-odd million,

62.1 per cent are Malays and other indigenous groups, 21.8 per cent

Chinese, 6.5 per cent Indians and 9.6 per cent Others (includes 8.7 per

cent non-citizens). Malaya and Singapore were served by the University of

Malaya (UM), located in Singapore, until 1957 when a branch campus was

established in Kuala Lumpur. In 1962, it split into two entities, University

of Malaya and University of Singapore, as befits the two sovereign states.

Formal steps were taken post-independence to develop higher education

institutions to provide the high-level skills that the industrializing nation

required. These aspirations took particular shape after the civil disturbances

of 1969. Higher education in Malaysia expanded exponentially over the last

four decades with dramatic improvement in access to public and private

Reproduced from Education and Globalization in Southeast Asia: Issues and Challenges, edited by
Lee Hock Guan (Singapore: ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute, 2017). This version was obtained electronically direct
from the publisher on condition that copyright is not infringed. No part of this publication may be reproduced
without the prior permission of the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute.
Individual articles are available at http://bookshop.iseas.edu.sg.