Category: Learning

Filling up Malaysian colleges – mission impossible?

3 Key Questions are raised in this article:
(a) What are the number of new students we need to fulfill the aspirations of the power that be for the National Education Blueprint 2015 -2025 to bear fruits?
(b) What are the projected number of new students from existing sources, both local and foreign?
(c) If there is indeed a deficit, what other sources of new students that Malaysia can muster?

Commentary (Feb 23, 2017)
When I was preparing for my public lecture at Taiwan’s Tunghai University ( entitled “Malaysian higher education: past, present and  likely future.”) in June 2016, I was researching on the data of the numbers of local and foreign over a few years and crunched these numbers to see if these have the potential to fill up the large collective capacities of Malaysian colleges and universities which are already having surplus “seats” at present.  While I was pondering the implications brought about by the National Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education) it suddenly appeared clear to me that my research work should indicate if fulfilling the numbers indicated by the power that be may be a mission impossible. I then went ahead to ask three crucial questions and attempted to analyze these with the data available to come up with my viewpoints.

In this article (which was written in August 2016 & updated in September 2016 when newer & more accurate data was available after my public lecture in late July 2016), I tried to lay out the bare facts based on my asking three crucial but simple questions:

(a) What are the number of new students we need to fulfill the aspirations of the power that be for the National Education Blueprint 2015 -2025 to bear fruits?

(b) What are the projected number of new students from existing sources,  both local and foreign?

(c) If (b) shows a deficit, what other sources of new students that Malaysia can muster?

The article that follows, the second one in a series of three, was first published in Han Chiang News portal in August 2016. My former colleague, Ms Kristina Khoo had produced the infographics to help readers to comprehend the data presented better.

First article in the series: How many colleges and universities can Malaysia truly sustain?

Those of us who serve in the higher education industry can finally breathe a sigh of relief when the National Education Blueprint 2015 – 2025 (Higher Education) (NEBHE) was unveiled on April 07 2015.  At least the strategic direction for the higher education sector for the coming 10 years was charted.

However, one important segment of the higher education sector was not adequately covered. The private higher education sector did not get the detailed attention that it deserves. This is surprising given the fact that the private sector is responsible to educate over 40 per cent of Malaysian students pursuing tertiary studies.

Under the NEBHE, the entire tertiary education sector should see the enrollment rate rise from 36 per cent  (1.42 million) in 2012 to 53 per cent in 2025 (2.49 million). To achieve this different sub-sectors within the higher education sector will have a differential rate of growth.

The private higher learning institutions are expected to grow its enrollment by 5.1 per cent annually whereas the corresponding rate of growth for the public universities is 2.6 per cent per annum. The largest rate of growth will be for private and public technical, vocational education and training (TVET) institutions at 7.8 per cent per annum while the remaining state-owned tertiary institutions (operated by different ministries) will see a modest 1.4 per cent annual growth.

All these impressive figures give the private higher learning institutions badly needed sense of the nation’s direction and how they could play their collective role. However there are three crucial questions that were not addressed by the NEBHE….

Summary of findings (click to view bigger image)

Summary of findings

Question 1: What is the number of new students that we need to recruit in 2025 if we are to attain the targets set by the National Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher Education)?

Typically Malaysian students studying in private universities and colleges enter these institutions straight from high school after taking their Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (equivalent of “O” level) and they will take about 4 years to complete their undergraduate studies. Their counterparts studying in public universities will be required to have pre-university qualifications such as STPM (equivalent of GCE “A” level), Matriculation or similar qualifications, and they only need about 3 years to graduate. Students in the TVET sub-sector will take around 1.5 years  to 2 years to complete their studies. To estimate the number of new students for each year for different sub-sectors, all we have to do is to divide the current total number of students enrolled in that sub-sector by the average years that it takes a typical student to graduate. So Table 1 and 2 summarise the number of “freshies” (new students) that each sub-sector needs per year for the reference year of 2017 and 2025 (as provided by the NEBHE).

We use 2017 as the “reference” year for two major reasons. Firstly we could estimate (based on available data) more accurately the number of students for each of the six sources and this data is more current and reflects the latest changes in the environment of higher education sector that are not so well reflected in the data of 2012. The total enrollment in each sub-sector in 2017 was calculated based on the corresponding compounded growth rate as stated in the NEBHE. For example, the Private Institutions sub-sector was estimated to grow by 5.1 per cent from 2012, thus the total enrollment of 555,000 was calculated from the base-year (2012) figure of 455,000 compounded by 5.1 per cent over 4 years

Table 1: Estimation of new students needed for each sub-sector in 2017

Sub-sector [annual growth rate] Total Enrollment (‘000) Typical study duration New enrollment needed (‘000)
Private institutions [5.1%] 555 4 139
Public universities [2.6%] 604 3 201
Public & private vocational institutions [7.8%] 335 2 167
Other governmental institutions [1.4%] 182 1.5 121
Total 1494 629

Let us use the annual growth rates for each sub-sector to estimate the compounded enrollment of each and in turn work out the number of “freshies” required by each sub-sector in 2025 (as shown in Table 2).

Table 2: Estimation of new students needed for each sub-sector in 2025

Sub-sector [annual growth rate] Total Enrollment (‘000) Typical study duration New enrollment needed (‘000)
Private institutions [5.1%] 867 4 217
Public universities [2.6%] 764 3 255
Public & private vocational institutions [7.8%] 656 2 328
Other governmental institutions [1.4%] 205 1.5 137
Total 2492 936

Hence, based on our simple calculations, for 2017 we will need about 629,000 new students to feed into the entire tertiary education sector in Malaysia. Based on the same principle we can estimate that by 2025 (as shown in Table 2), to provide for a total enrollment of 2.49 million, we shall need to have around 936.000 new students.

Question 2: Do we have enough youngsters to “feed” into the entire scheme of work?

To answer this question, we shall need to take a look at the sources of students for tertiary education. Traditionally there are six main sources of students for tertiary education institutions.

We can estimate the figures for each sector for the year 2017 and 2025 based on the following categories of “sources”: (a) Sixth formers; (b) Matriculation students; (c)  SPM students; (d) International students; (e) Independent Chinese high school students; (f) private school students.

Based on the population estimation and projection published by the World Bank, the population of 17, 18 and 19 year-olds in Malaysia by 2025 will be 560,000, 566,000 and 574,000 respectively. These figures are matched by the Malaysian Statistic Department’s projection of the nation having a total of 2,573.500 fifteen to 19 year olds by 2025, giving an average of around 515,000 persons per year group. These demographic data provided the basis from which the estimation of the number of students for each of the six categories of sources stated and presented in Table 3.

Table 3: An estimation* of the sources of students for tertiary institutions in Malaysia for 2017 and 2025

Sources of students Estimated number (‘000) For 2017 Estimated number (‘000) For 2025
(a) Form 6 42 60
(b) Matriculation 27 30
(c) SPM (Form 5) 441 400
(d) International students 43 71
(e) Chinese independent high schools (UEC) 15 19
(f) Other private schools 10 16
Total: 578 596

*Some of the data presented in this table has been revised (Sept 23, 2016) in consideration of more accurate data being obtained by the author after publication.

We assumed that both the (a) Form 6 and (b) Matriculation student population will only have a modest growth over the 9- years period. Basing on recent trend, we expected that the number of SPM school leavers to continue to decline yearly and will drop from 441,000 in 2017 to around 400,000 by 2025. We estimated (d) International students number from the figure of around 150,000 published for 2016 where on average overseas students spend around 3.5 years in Malaysia (we divided 150,000 by 3.5) and did likewise for their numbers by 2025 based on the published target of 250,000 international students by 2025 as stated by the NEBHE. As the collective capacities of the (e) Chinese independent high schools are already in saturation point in 2016, there should be a modest growth over the next 9 – 10 years in the number of new students that they are able to accommodate and hence the corresponding slow growth in the number of students graduating from these high schools. With the massive growth in numbers and capacities of the private schools and international schools sub-sector, it is prudent to estimate that the number of students graduating from this subcategory will double over the next 9 years.

By just comparing the answers to Question 1 and 2, we can see that, based on our estimation, even in 2017 there will be a “shortfall” of around 33,000 students if the target enrollment numbers for each subcategory of tertiary institutions are to be met. This “shortfall” shall widen greatly over the 9 years to 2025 when there would only be a “supply” of 611,000 students but with a collective capacity / target number of around 936,000. A huge deficit of around 350,000 students.

Question 3: Do we have any way to source for 300,000 – 400,000 students per year to fill up the collective capacities of our colleges and universities by 2025?

A Malaysian Statistics Department report  stated that, 55.5 per cent of the Malaysian labour force had only a secondary level education, 15.5 per cent had primary level education and 2.6 per cent had no formal education. This means that if we just focus only on those in the labour force with secondary level education, with around 14 million in the total labour force if we just send 4 -5 per cent of these people a year to tertiary institutions, there will be over 300,000 students to make good the shortfall.

However, with increasing participation rate of school leavers in tertiary education (already stated at 53 per cent by 2025) and a massive upskilling of the labour force to tertiary education level, there will be a fast “depletion” of low skilled labour force in 10-15 years. Unless there is a massive growth in the population of 18-year-olds, the country will still face with the issue of having insufficient number of students to fill up the capacities of her colleges and universities.

Perhaps the power that be should instead be looking into consolidation of the whole tertiary education sector. Maybe it is prudent to take a re-look at the ambitious enrollment targets set forth by the NEBHE.

The bulk of the content of this article came from a talk given by the author as a guest speaker of Tunghai University, Taichung, Taiwan on July 28 2016 entitled “Malaysian higher education: past, present and  likely future.”

How many colleges and universities can Malaysia truly sustain?

Based on the US model of population and income and compare these with the equivalents for Taiwan and Malaysia….the wisdom of Taiwan’s decision to reduce her universities by one third is apparent. It means also that Malaysia cannot sustain the high number of tertiary institutions. Wake up call?

I was invited by Professor Lin Hsiou-Wei, Distinguished Professor and Dean of Management College, Tunghai University, Taiwan to visit his university in late July 2016. Professor Lin also invited me to give a public lecture entitled, “Malaysian higher education: past, present and  likely future.” This is the first of three articles that I had written and first published in Han Chiang News in 2016 based on the research I had done to prepare for that public lecture in Taiwan which I delivered in Mandarin. It was the first time I was given the opportunity to give a talk  delivered in Mandarin where I was more comfortable doing so in English! My former colleague, Ms. Kristina Khoo thought that I could make my points better by presenting the key arguments in videos and being the CEO and Principal of the College, I had to put my money where my mouth was and agreed to perform in front of the camera and well directed by Ms Khoo.

By Dr Chow Yong Neng

In April 2015, a bombshell was released by the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. Up to 52 of its existing 167 tertiary institutions will have to either close or merge with others within 10 years.

Taiwan and Malaysia have very similar population of 23.4 million and 30.5 million respectively. However Taiwan has more than twice of Malaysia’s per capita GDP at US$22,979 compared to Malaysia’s US$9,766 and its 167 tertiary institutions are considered as 52 too many.

Malaysia currently has 20 public universities, 37 polytechnics, 94 community colleges, 43 other state-funded training centres, 99 private universities and university colleges and 402 private colleges. These add up to a total of 695 tertiary institutions in Malaysia*.

What about Malaysia which has a total of 695 tertiary institutions? Can our economic and demographic factors support this more than 4-fold in the number of colleges and universities in Malaysia compared to Taiwan’s figure? In other words, if Taiwan needs to reduce her universities by more than 30 per cent over a ten-year period would Malaysia, with a lower per capita GDP need to follow suit?

Taiwan has a tertiary education enrollment rate (i.e. how many percent of its youth receive tertiary education) of close to 99 per cent compared to Malaysia’s 37 per cent. Does that mean Malaysia still has plenty of scope for its tertiary education sector to secure the enrollment of students and fill its collective capacities?

Proportional comparison with US’s figures

Let us look at the best example available as a “base model”, that is the United States of America with a population of around 321 million, per capita GDP of US$55,837 and 4,726 accredited tertiary institutions** (please refer to Table 1). We can compare both Taiwan’s and Malaysia’s tertiary education sector using the data of the USA to estimate the “maximum sustainable number of tertiary institutions” by asking just three questions.

Table 1: Comparison of 3 nations’ tertiary education: population, per capita GDP & number of tertiary institutions
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Population (millions) 321 23.38 30.75
Per capita GDP (US$) $55,837 $21,979 $9,766
No. of accredited tertiary institutions 4,726 167 695
Tertiary student population (millions) 21 1.34 1.42
Average population per institution 67,922 140,000 44,245
Average number of students per institution 4,444 8,024 2,043

Question 1:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBPuKEo-hHI]

Based solely on USA’s population and the number of US tertiary institutions, what will be the maximum number of institutions that Taiwan and Malaysia can support?

We can easily answer this question by dividing the population figure of Taiwan or Malaysia by that of the US  then multiply the results by 4,726 (the number of accredited tertiary institutions in the USA). Essentially a proportional comparison which is presented in Table 2.

Table 2: Comparison of Taiwan’s & Malaysia’s sustainable number of tertiary institutions based on the USA’s model using population data
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Population (millions) 321 23.38 30.75
Maximum sustainable number of institutions 4,726 344 453

It is clear that, based on population alone, Taiwan can easily have twice her present number of tertiary institutions. However the same cannot be said about Malaysia. At 695 Malaysia is already having an excess of 242 tertiary institutions.

Question 2:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QeG5kL_jEY]

Based solely on USA’s per capita GDP and the number of US tertiary institutions, what will be the maximum number of institutions that Taiwan and Malaysia can support?

As in Question 1, we can use the same logic to do a proportional comparison of the data for both Taiwan and Malaysia using the USA’s as the “base figures” as presented in Table 3.

Table 3: Comparison of Taiwan’s & Malaysia’s sustainable number of tertiary institutions based on the USA’s model using per capital GDP data
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Per capita GDP (US$) $55,837 $21,979 $9,766
Maximum sustainable number of institutions 4,726 1,860 827

If we consider per capita GDP in isolation, the economy of Taiwan could easily sustain over 11-folds the number of tertiary institutions that she presently has whereas Malaysia will still be able to “top up” the present 695 institutions by another 132.

Question 3:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBRJjU4xFEE]

What will be the maximum sustainable number of tertiary institutions for Taiwan & Malaysia if we factor in the combined effect of per capita GDP and population as compared to the USA model?

We really need to combine both the economic and demographic figures in our proportional comparison to determine the maximum sustainable number of tertiary institutions for each country. To come out with the comparison, we divide each figure (be it population or per capita GDP) with the corresponding USA’s figure, multiply the result of both economic and demographic comparison together with the USA’s current number of tertiary institutions. The result of this comparison is presented in Table 4.

Table 4: Comparison of Taiwan’s & Malaysia’s sustainable number of tertiary institutions based on the USA’s model using both population & per capita GDP data.
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Population (millions) 321 23.38 30.75
per capita GDP (US$) $55,837 $21,979 $9,766
Maximum sustainable number of institutions 4,726 135 79

The combination of both economic and demographic figures of the respective countries reveal something very staggering. Both Taiwan and Malaysia are already having too many tertiary institutions and the Taiwanese government has rightly put up a policy in April 2015 to reduce the number of tertiary institutions in the country in view of dwindling college-going population and the country’s already close to 99% tertiary enrollment rate.

When one looks at the maximum sustainable number of tertiary institutions for Malaysia of 79, one will not be blamed for suspecting some mistakes were committed in its calculation. But this figure has been estimated based on available data. With 616 “excess” number of tertiary institutions, what can Malaysia do to address the problem? Is it possible at all to reduce the number of tertiary institutions in Malaysia by close to 90 per cent?

Will increase in tertiary enrollment rate from the current 37 per cent to 94 per cent (USA’s current rate) be sufficient to solve the problem? Let us just do another proportional comparison:

[94% / 37%] * 79 institutions = 201 institutions

Thus even if we have 94 per cent tertiary enrollment rate, we will still need to close / merge around 500 tertiary institutions in Malaysia.

In fact, even if we miraculously increase Malaysia’s per capita GDP by 50 per cent to say US$15,000 and we have 94 per cent tertiary enrollment rate, Malaysia can only sustain:

[94%/37%] * [US$15,000 / US$9,766] * 79 institutions = 308 institutions

We will still be needing to merge or close down 387 tertiary institutions in Malaysia!

Solutions

With not much scope to raise the population of 18 year-old by a significant figure annually for the foreseeable future, Malaysia will have to follow in Taiwan’s footsteps. The key difference between Malaysia and Taiwan is that the bulk of the struggling institutions are privately owned and funded, there is no such thing as the withdrawal of grants and subsidies to entice these owners to consider merging or closing.

The fact remains that this issue has been overshadowing the entire private tertiary education industry since its reaching a peak of around 730 private tertiary institutions around 2002. The past 14 years did see some form of consolidation in the private tertiary education industry where the number of private institutions have dwindled down by close to 230 to the present 501 institutions (data as provided by the Ministry of Higher Education for May 2016).

The billion Ringgit question is whether this figure could be further reduced by another 380 to 400 to provide the industry with sustainability.

One thing is perfectly clear, “Consolidation is certain, resistance is futile!”

One may ask, “When shall we expect a bombshell be released by the power that be in Malaysia?” To this I shall answer, “Your guess is as good as mine!”

Footnotes:
*More accurate estimations were available along with more up-to-date data being acquired by the author since the publication of this article in August 2015 and the revised analysis though did not affect the conclusion but nevertheless the author feels that it should be presented to the readers.

The number of higher education institutions in Malaysia should be computed to include only those institutions which offer diploma and higher academic qualifications and hence shall exclude community colleges. Based on this principle, the number of tertiary institutions is revised as follows: Public universities (20), Polytechnics (37), State-funded vocational institutions with capability to offer diploma and advanced diploma (20), private universities & university colleges (96), private colleges (401), making a total of 574 (and not 695) higher education institutions. 

In addition to the 94 state funded public community colleges, there are 813 private accredited training institutions, 80 public vocational colleges and 320 other training institutions funded by various ministries making a total of 1307 institutions in Malaysia offering vocational skill training programmes (below diploma level), catering mainly to school leavers.

**Based on data compiled from US’s National Center of Education Statistics, the total number of accredited colleges and universities in the USA (2013 -2014 survey) was 4,599 and not 4726 as reported earlier. The population of the USA has also been revised upward to 324 million to reflect the latest (2016) figure. Likewise the GDP of Taiwan has been revised based on the latest figure obtained.

Hence the following tables with the revised data are being presented to our readers.

Table 1: Comparison of 3 nations’ tertiary education: population, per capita GDP & number of tertiary institutions (revised)
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Population (millions) 324 23.38 30.75
Per capita GDP (US$) $55,837 $22,294 $9,766
No. of accredited tertiary institutions 4,599 167 574
Tertiary student population (millions) 21 1.34 1.42
Average population per institution 70,450 140,000 53,5711
No. of student per institution 4,566 8,024 2,474
Table 2: Comparison of Taiwan’s & Malaysia’s sustainable number of tertiary institutions based on the USA’s model using population data (revised)
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Population (millions) 324 23.38 30.75
Maximum sustainable number of institutions 4,599 332 436
Table 3: Comparison of Taiwan’s & Malaysia’s sustainable number of tertiary institutions based on the USA’s model using per capita GDP data (revised)
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Per capita GDP (US$) $55,837 $22,294 $9,766
Maximum sustainable number of institutions 4,599 1836 804
Table 4: Comparison of Taiwan’s & Malaysia’s sustainable number of tertiary institutions based on the USA’s model using both population & per capita GDP data. (revised)
Country USA Taiwan Malaysia
Population (millions) 324 23.38 30.75
per capita GDP (US$) $55,837 $22,294 $9,766
Maximum sustainable number of institutions 4,599 133 76

Deadline means you’re dead if this line is crossed!

It is high time we adopt and use the word “deadline” literally as it is. Unless we have the notion that something, someone, some event or someone’s career is going to die if this timeline is not observed, Malaysians will forever be a nation of procrastinators.

Commentary:
The first few months of my taking up the CEO / Principal post at Han Chiang College / University College in January 2015 was a frustrating time for me. The pace of work of my staff was at least 40% slower than what I was accustomed to in  workplaces of the Klang Valley. Nobody seemed to be bothered with deadlines set and I ended up doing a lot of unnecessary “fire fighting” jobs. It took a while before my message of “being professional and taking management’s instruction seriously”was finally percolated through. This article which I wrote in August 2015 perhaps helped, albeit a wee bit, I think!

As the leader of a higher education institution during the period of 2015 to 2017, I had to rely heavily on both the academic and administrative colleagues to complete crucial tasks.

I still remember one of the management lessons I learned while I was an undergraduate, that a manager gets things done via other people. Thus having good communication skill is a ‘must have” for one to be a good manager. When confronted with the fact that most members of my senior team  seemed to have trouble adhering to the timelines agreed or assigned for tasks and projects to be completed, naturally I began to investigate if it was the inefficiency in my communication skills that caused these delays. Having worked over 17 years in the Klang Valley (5 years before that in Singapore), I was accustomed to having colleagues, especially senior staff observe deadlines set for tasks and projects. I think the pace of life in the Klang Valley is much faster than Penang’s but it did not mean my team members could easily ignore deadlines set by me. Hence these many incidences of delay in the completion of tasks assigned was a mystery that I had to dig into!

One of the first difficult English words I learned from my tuition teacher, Mr. John Lee when I was in Form 1 (aged 14) was “procrastination”. Mr. Lee went on the teach us the famous saying, “procrastination is the thief of time.” I wanted to find out why many of my team members are indeed “serial” procrastinators and I was somewhat relieved that the problem did not lie in my communication skills!

One morning while I was in the shower before getting ready for work, I suddenly discovered the reason why so many of my team members were habitually breaching the relevant deadlines set by me for the completion of assigned projects and tasks. It also helps perhaps to explain the laid back attitude of Malaysians  in general when it comes to adherence to deadlines.

The definition  of “deadline” as provided by Google is, “the latest time or date by which something should be completed.” The word ‘dead” in the compound word “deadline” literally means something is going to be dead if the line is crossed. I thus quickly checked the definition of ‘deadline’ in Chinese which  is “最后期限” (zuìhòu qíxiàn or the last date limit) or “截止日期” (jiézhǐ rìqí or expiry date/closing date). The word “dead” is somehow omitted in the translated definition. My wife who does not read Chinese but speaks fluent Cantonese tried to translate “deadline” literally, which is “死期” (si qi or date of death) and is obviously not correct. But I think “death” is a tabooed word for the Chinese when it comes to the context of a project or a job. Hence the Chinese in Malaysia (at least those who speak Mandarin, Hokkien, Cantonese and Hakka…. that  is the limit to the dialects that I have some understanding) do not collectively  have a concept of death to a project or task should the deadline is crossed! If nothing is going to die if the deadline is breached, naturally no one will worry about adhering to it.

In Bahasa Malaysia, often “deadline” is translated as “tarikh akhir”, again the word “dead” (or “mati”) never comes into this. In fact “tarikh mati” is literally the “date of death” as in “死期” in Chinese. I then went on to check with  a colleague who speaks and writes Tamil the definition of “deadline” in this language. She  confirms that the word “dead” is also not a part of the definition in Tamil. She thinks that there is also no equivalent for the word “dead” in Hindi for “deadline” too.

While discussing the issue of “deadline” I was reminded that many Malaysians often use the word “dateline” in place of “deadline”. The word “dateline” is used mainly in journalism where it refers to, as provided by Google, “a line at the head of a dispatch or special article in a newspaper showing the date and place of writing”.  Thus “dateline” is very different from “deadline”. Perhaps this is another reason for the procrastination displayed by some of my team members?

I therefore can opine that being procrastinators is inherently  embedded in the Malaysian culture because collectively we do not have the concept of “death” to a project / job / task / one’s career if the timeline is not observed. Hence the long queue as the deadline approaches in filing of income tax, application for approvals etc. as prevalent in our culture.  Thus, it is high time we adopt and use the word “deadline” literally as it is. Unless we have the notion that something, someone, some event or someone’s career is going to die if this timeline is not observed, Malaysians will forever be a nation of procrastinators. I hope that my definition of “deadline” has been “sticky” enough in the minds of my team members by now!

If you are leading a team as a manager, team leader or in a similar role, my advice is, before you start to assign tasks to your team members, do remind them of my definition of “deadline”.

If you are a team member, my advice is to get a move on the task assigned as soon as possible to provide yourself with sufficient timeline to meet the deadline. If you face issues that have an impact on your timeline or proving to be an impedance to your progress, you should, like I have advised my team members, bring this to the attention of your leader at the soonest for he/she may be able to solve your problems easily or extend your deadline. Sitting on a task / project and doing nothing will make you a procrastinator and more importantly it will surely hurt your career! The latter was what I told my team members and you can bet by now they know pretty well of my expectations!

How to enjoy your Chinese New Year reunion dinner

Reunion dinner (or lunch in our case) is a time for family members (and clan) to gather, eat, celebrate and be merry together. What we end up eating should be put in a lesser significance than the togetherness of family members that the reunion meal brings.

Commentary: I wrote this article near the Chinese New Year of 2016 (published on Han Chiang News). It was the first year that we got to celebrate CNY after the mourning period for my late father was over. As the de facto “head” of the Chow clan, I had (after consulting with the “deputy head”, my younger brother) declared that we would not be eating reunion dinner in a restaurant. Instead, we would do a “combo- reunion-lunch” where simple dishes (those that were easily cooked) would be prepared, mainly for the ancestral prayers etc. while the main “dishes” would be the mandatory “yue sang” (tossing of salad with raw fish or “low sang”) which could be bought easily, friend chicken, roast pork, pizza or burgers etc. that we would buy. We would have plenty of time to eat and the “head” & “deputy head” would have lots of time to savour our amber nectar and red wine etc. etc. It worked out well in 2016 and we repeated this for CNY 2017!

Unfortunately for CNY 2018, due to the passing of my late father-in-law, we are not celebrating.

This writer would like to wish all readers of my blog a Happy Year of the Earth Dog for 2018.

Growing up in the 1960s and 70s in Ipoh I had the benefit of witnessing the evolving Chinese Malaysian custom of Reunion Dinner for several decades. Up till the passing of my paternal grandfather in 1976, reunion dinner for the Chow clan was an elaborate affair. As my maternal grandparents passed on very early (way before I was born), my paternal grandfather had been opening his home to my mother’s siblings for Chinese New Year and other main festivals for years. Reunion dinner during my childhood was a time when my late mother would be totally stressed out (she worked full time and had to be responsible for the reunion dinner as well!). Luckily for my mother, some of my aunts (from both sides of my family) would roll up their sleeves to offer their assistance. My mother and her “gang” of ladies had to cook for over 30 people and we even had a separate “children’s table” to accommodate everyone during the reunion dinner.

Aside from the main dishes which were used as offerings for prayer to the various Gods and of course the ancestors, there were many other dishes with particular auspicious sounding names in different Chinese dialects (my mother tongue is Cantonese, so the names cited henceforth are in that dialect) as ingredients such as oysters (fresh or preserved) – “Hou Si” (auspicious events); black fungus – “Fatt Choy” (making a fortune); sea cucumbers – “Hoi Sum” (happy) ; pig’s fore trotters – “Wang Choy Zhau Shao” (special fortune is on hand); etc.

As my mother grew more frail in the late 90s, my aunts took on more responsibilities for cooking the reunion dinner but the same “style” was preserved as my mother was still the buyer of food ingredients and the “kitchen director”. After my mother’s passing in 1998, we were faced with a big issue: both my brother’s wife and mine were not exactly great cooks and it was then that I decided in 2001 to eat out for reunion dinner where I would sponsor the dinner for the Chow clan.

Eating out for reunion dinner sounds a great solution for many to get around the “who to cook” (and who does the dishes) issue. But it does come with its own set of problems.

  • It costs a big bundle of money to have your reunion dinner at a restaurant. The cost can be easily 100% higher than if you and your family have a home-cooked reunion dinner.
  • You must book your table early. Popular restaurants tend to get booked up very fast and if you are slow in making your booking, you tend to get the “very early” (before 6pm) or “very late” (after 9pm) slots.
  • You do not get to order a la carte if you fancy a particular dish. It would be a choice from the “set-menu” with different combinations of dishes at differing prices.
  • It would be like eating in a “battle field” when it comes to having your actual reunion dinner.  You cannot hope to hold a decent conversation as the place will be packed and becomes very noisy.
  • You will need to eat your reunion dinner very fast, I mean really fast. Though it is often quoted that the restaurant will allocate 90 minutes for you to complete your meal, often you have got to wait for at least 45 minutes to an hour to get your food served, leaving you with precious little time to enjoy your food.
  • Be prepared for all (or at least 60%) of your dishes (usually 8 dishes) to come at once or at most at 2-3 minutes apart. Remember, after waiting for 45 minutes already, you have less than 45 minutes to eat! Be prepared for the next “shift” of eaters hovering near your seats while you are attempting to enjoy your meal.
  • Expect non-existence service from the restaurant staff (for your drinks and other needs) as the place will often be overbooked and understaffed. So you are best advised to self-serve your drinks etc.
  • It will be akin to eating in a packed commuter train such as the KTM Komuter at KL Sentral at 6pm on a weekday. Due to overbooking, restaurants tend to put in as many tables that they can get away with. If you have booked for a large table for 12, be prepared to be given one for 10 as chaos would be the order of the day. We once booked a large table for 15 persons but were given a table fit for 10 persons only. Recalling this, with a few “plus-plus sized” members, how we squeezed ourselves together on that occasion still remains a mystery to me.

A great deal of what I had described above would hold true and is “replayed” every Chinese New Year. There is only one word to describe the unethical business practices of some of these restaurateurs: Greed. However, it is a “seller’s market”. If you do not like the service and the conditions described above, there are many others who would gladly fork out the money to take over your place!  This is especially true for a city like Ipoh where thousands of Kuala Lumpur-based, Singapore-based or even overseas “Ipoh Mali” people (myself included) who would congregate at their home town for Chinese New Year. Thus with so much of yearly businesses coming to these restaurants, the merchants, especially those who are greedy, have no fear of mistreating, misleading and come to think of it, cheating these customers, many of whom would only be visiting their hometown on an annual basis.

So for Chinese New Year 2016 [and beyond], the Chow clan has decided that we would do something different. We will be having our reunion meal at our ancestral home in Ipoh where my younger brother and family are staying. We will have the necessary tossing of salad – “Loh Sang” (strive for prosperity) and the usual press duck, Chinese sausages, roast pork (for prayer to the Gods and to our ancestors). Instead of cooking the other dishes, we would have choices such as pizzas, fried chicken, McDonald’s burgers etc. for all the Chow clan. To facilitate our respective in-laws, we would be having a reunion “lunch” so that we could join our respective in-laws for dinner.

Reunion dinner (or lunch in our case) is a time for family members (and clan) to gather, eat, celebrate and be merry together. What we end up eating should be put in a lesser significance than the togetherness of family members that the reunion meal brings. It should be a time for family members (especially for those like my brother’s family and mine who live in different parts of the country) to meet, share a meal and to remember our departed clan members. It is also a time for us to enjoy each other’s company in a relaxing way (whether we need alcohol for this is immaterial, but for the Chow clan, it is mandatory!). All these could never be achieved if we spend the reunion dinner packed like sardines in an expensive restaurant which limits the amount of time we have to eat, to meet and to enjoy ourselves. It is about time Chinese Malaysians re-evaluate the meaning of reunion dinner and stop patronizing those greedy restaurants which force us to eat eight dishes in 10 minutes!

Vocational education: The stepchild of Malaysian education system?

If we are serious about uplifting the overall skill-sets of Malaysians, we cannot afford to go on treating the vocational education sector as the stepchild.

I contributed this article as the editor-in-chief of Han Chiang News, an online news portal set up to give budding journo a platform to practice what they have learned. This article was published on April 15, 2015, but my argument is still the same, TVET (technical, vocational education & training) is still a stepchild! More so in the eyes of the parents who are not well informed of its value and the complicated ways in which TVET is managed by too many government bodies and agencies making it difficult to integrate into the “traditional” academic route for tertiary studies for Malaysian youths. I had gained “Vocational Training Officer” credential in 2016 precisely because I see great future in the TVET sector especially in bridging links between TVET & academia.

The choke of my ceiling fluorescent light gave a “pop” sound and the lighting system failed. Not being that competent in handling electrical work, my wife and I decided that we would need the help of an electrician. If your air-conditioner starts to leak water, you would call the air-conditioning technician. If your car refuses to start, or if your car has a flat tyre would you know what to do?

There are countless aspects of our lives where we would require the skills and mastery of a vocational-trained person to deal with. Yet when it comes to vocational education, there seems to be a stigma in channelling our offspring into the vocational stream. Time and again it has been proven that vocational-trained young persons are more likely to get jobs than their counterparts graduating from colleges and universities with academic qualifications.

According to a recent Jobstreet survey (cited in the National Graduate Employment Blueprint), having “mismatch of skills” was the 4th most cited reason given by employers for not hiring a fresh graduate. Why vocational education and certification (aside from the IT & computer science fields and specialized academic diploma programmes in automotive sector) have not been widely incorporated into the curriculum of universities and colleges is the billion ringgit question! This could potentially solve the high proportion of unemployed graduates each year (over 53,000 out of 180,000 annual cohort of fresh tertiary graduates are unable to get employment). Perhaps  the lack of cross-understanding of the operational aspects of both the academic and vocational education pathways by the respective accreditation agencies is one of the key reasons for the Malaysian education system’s inability to cater to the needs of those coming from the vocational education sector and to embed vocational education into academic studies to enhance university graduates’ employability.

Thus the idea mooted by the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (PEMANDU) of the Prime Minister Department to amalgamate accreditation agencies such as the Malaysian Qualifications Agency and Skills Development Department (Jabatan Perkembangan Kemahiran – JPK) of the Ministry of Human Resources is brilliant. This may drive the creation of seamless learning and qualification pathways for those in the vocational sector to earn diplomas and degrees.

In addition, currently vocational education is provided by no less than 7 Federal ministries/agencies which makes effective coordination amongst these players highly challenging leading to duplication and wastage of resources. Amalgamating the operations of all the public sector training institutions currently under separate agencies into one body while leaving the respective functions such as funding and recruitment of learners to the individual agencies to fulfil their different obligations and objectives is therefore a no brainer.

Currently, some of the negative perceptions among parents and school leavers about vocational education are valid. Except for one case, all the trainees I have encountered so far had chosen the vocational studies route because of their lack of the required Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia grades to be on the academic track.

Thus although the Malaysian Qualifications Framework (MQF) provides for those coming from the vocational education route to cross-over to the academic pathway to earn degrees, in reality few if any of those holding Sijil Kemahiran Malaysia (SKM) vocational education qualifications ever made it to earn their diplomas or degrees from universities or colleges.

Personally I have come across a few SKM holders who technically were able to articulate into engineering diploma programmes in a college. However, their gap of knowledge in mathematics and physics (to a lesser extent, chemistry) was a huge hurdle for them. Thus to make a good pathway for SKM qualification holders into academic route, there must be a good bridging course to make up for the gap of knowledge. Presently, only the publicly funded polytechnics have the capacity and expertise to take SKM holders on to the academic route and places at these institutions are very limited.

[Commentary in 2017: In recent years, the Malaysian Qualifications Agency – MQA did put out a relaxation of admission criteria for SKM level 3 holders and allowing training institutions to provide bridging courses in English, mathematics and the sciences at SPM level to augment the knowledge gap which is commendable. However I feel that MQA should remove the need for SKM level 3 holders to have at least a “pass” grade in SPM and at least scoring a “Credit” grade in one SPM subject i.e. passing Bahasa Malaysia, and History. Instead, I would suggest that the MQA revise this by adding, ” candidates without a pass grade in SPM should show evident of their having taken and passed bridging courses in Bahasa Malaysia, history and one other subject relevant to their desired course of study at diploma level. This will allow for instance, students wishing to pursue at diploma level, mass communication but without a pass grade in SPM to have a chance to pursue the academic route if they take the relevant bridging courses while working on their SKM qualifications. We must not put up barrier but should adopt the “easy to get in but strict on passing out” principle to tackle this issue. Using traditional “academic” requirements will always leave those who have the aptitude to progress to academic route but without a pass grade in SPM stranded.]

In budget 2015, the Ministry of Education was allocated RM56.0 billion, but only RM1.2 billion (or 2.14%) of this was earmarked for vocational education. The higher education sector with about 1.2 million enrolees was allocated close to RM5.0 billion as National Higher Education Fund Corporation (Perbadanan Tabung Pendidikan Nasional – PTPTN) loans.  Yet with over 230,000 enrollees, the vocational sector only received RM200 million as study loans via the Skills Development Fund Corporation (Perbadanan Tabung Perkembangan Kemahiran – PTPK). PTPK’s budget has to cater to not only the study loan needs of school leavers but also those who are already working in industries thus making this resource grossly inadequate to deal with the demand of all who are interested to take on vocational training.

With about 5 times less in funding (RM870 per enrolee in vocational sector compared to RM4,167 for enrolees in the higher education sector), it is not surprising that the vocational education sector are not able to cope with the demand of industries. I think if we are serious about uplifting the overall skill-sets of Malaysians, we cannot afford to go on treating the vocational education sector as the stepchild. The power that be, needs to put its money where its mouth is!

The trouble of replacing car alarm’s remote!

Don’t change your car’s alarm system just because your car remote is spoiled. There are specialists who have replacement units & re-programming skills to your rescue!

Declaration: I did not get a single cent from the vendor, in fact they “owe” me RM5 for the discount that the technician promised me but forgot to deduct from the final bill that I paid. This article was written purely to share a useful piece of motoring information and my experience with my readers, especially for those residing in the Klang Valley.

My fourteen plus years old MPV gives us very little trouble. The major grouse is indeed the Cobra car alarm system that came with this Toyota Unser. The remote control is badly designed with buttons that are made of easily degraded rubber and the “stem” that links the chip unit that controls the remote’s function is made of the same sort of lousy cheap rubber which breaks easily. For the past twelve years, my other half, ever the pseudo-McGuyver, had been improvising by replacing the damaged “stem” with coated wires and re-purposing cut out erasers from our children’s pencil box to “re-construct” the rubber buttons. For good measure, she further protected the whole unit with a plastic bag wrapping.

Recently one of the remote control’s chip unit had had enough and died. After three trips to different car accessories vendors located near where I live, we were resigned to the fact that either we live with having just one functional car remote, or change the entire car alarm system, costing at least RM500. This was because all three vendors told me that there is no supplier for replacement remote chip units, only the casings are available in the market. I was not convinced. If I can get the casing from Lazada and Mudah, there must be a supplier of the chip set too.

Thanks to “Mr. Google”, after a couple of hours of intense “desk” research, I managed to find a company which claims (on its website) to be the specialist for car and house alarm. Not only they did have my car’s ancient alarm remote control, their website stated that they would be glad to replace any damaged unit and even quoted a price for reprogramming the replacement remote. As I could not find the age of the information contained in this website, I was not really confident of getting my problem solved. Any way, the vendor is located on the other side of the Klang Valley (from my home), 32 km and two tolls away, which dampened my hope for a solution. Nevertheless, I made the call to Awantech and was told by the office lady of this vendor to call one of her technicians who picked up my call at the second attempt.

Off I went with my other half to Kajang, from Subang Jaya. As I worked briefly at Ikram College (now Infrastructure University) about 16 years back, I sort of still recognised my way to Kajang, a town I frequented with my friends for the extended Friday lunch break back in 2001. My other half drove and I navigated (she did not like to read maps!) with Google Maps. All went well until we went passed Kajang town centre. We lost our GPS signal! But seeing New Era University College on my left, and knowing that the commercial estate where this vendor was located would be in the direction towards Bangi town (where we were heading), I decided that Google Maps without GPS was still workable and found Awantech Trading and Services at Reko Sentral. The big sign in front of the shop actually said “K-Wang” but you cannot miss the big yellow key affixed to the front of the shop as shown in the feature picture of this article.

Direction to Awantech: it is easier (but takes longer) to go via Kajang town centre. If you come from the west via the Kajang-SILK highway, exit at Kajang town (you shall skip one toll!). Go pass the Polis Station at the town centre on your left and turn right at the traffic lights… drive straight on for another 3.5 km. You should see the MRT tracks and stations being built on your left. The key landmark is New Era University College on your left (we lost our GPS signal just after this point). Reko Sentral should be another 3 km on your right. Head towards Econsave supermarket form Reko Sentral 6 (the entrance road to the estate from the main road), Reko Sentral 4 is directly opposite Econsave’s entrance. If you look for Agrobank, K-Wang/Awantech is just opposite the bank  (well, a bit to the right looking from Agrobank).

This map below shows the GPS point etc. of Awantech, but it will be best if you can “memorise” the key landmarks on Google Map as your GPS signal may be lost!

Warning: GPS signals may be lost! So "memorise" your landmark!
Warning: GPS signals may be lost! So “memorise” your landmark!

The “damage” to my wallet: The website stated RM80 for the remote and RM40 for the programming, these were old pricing! Obviously someone from Awantech needs to update this. I was charged RM150 for the remote plus reprogramming. For good measure, we decided to change the casing for the remaining “original” remote as well for another RM35.

Learning point: you need not change the whole car alarm system if the remote dies on you. The guys at Awantech or others (but I could not find any one else) who do nothing but car and house alarm, have the spare parts and expertise to find you a replacement remote. The cost and trouble in changing an old car’s alarm system plus wiring etc. means that doing so must be your last resort, that is if people like Awantech tells you that not only your remote but the entire car alarm system is kaput! Changing the entire car alarm system because of a failed remote is just an over enterprising car accessories vendor’s way of solving this small problem with a loud ring to his/her cash register. You do not change your car tyre because you have a spoiled pressure valve or just a missing pressure valve cap! So why do you need to change the entire system for a kaput remote?

You don't replace a tyre if its pressure valve cap is missing, why the car alarm system if the remote is dead?
You don’t replace a tyre if its pressure valve cap is missing, why the car alarm system if the remote is dead?

Insight into Hong Kong’s tertiary education

The Hong Kong Government and the HK Jockey Club provide substantial financial support to self-financing colleges.

Mr. Lim Soon Tiong (林顺忠先生), a graduate of the original Nanyang University of early Singapore (fondly known in Malaysia and Singapore as “Nanda”－ 南洋大学） is a Malaysian who has made his many pots of gold in Hong Kong. He has been generously donating and funding educational initiatives to benefit young people in Hong Kong and Malaysia. One of his

limsoontiong
Ms. Lim Soon Tiong, a graduate of the original “Nanda” （南大） is a Malaysian who has made his mark in the business world of Hong Kong. Our delegation’s visit was his brainchild and was generously sponsored by him.

latest kind deeds was his organizing and funding of a five-days-four-nights study-visit by a group of seven college/university leaders to learn more about the tertiary education scene in Hong Kong. Fortunately for me, Mr. Lim had invited me to be a member of this group which we called ourselves in Chinese “大马民办高校香港高等教育考察团” (Delegation of Malaysian Community-supported Institutions of Higher Learning to Hong Kong).

Our group, led by Dr. Lim Chong Keang (New Era University College’s Chairman of the Board of Governors) was comprised of leaders of Malaysia’s three tertiary institutions which are fully funded and supported by the Chinese Malaysian community, namely New Era University College, Southern University College and Han Chiang College (in which I was associated and was in the process of being registered as a university college). Our benefactor, Mr. Lim Soon Tiong had managed to rope in Professor Nyaw MK  (饒美蛟教授), who is a very respected and accomplished educationist in Hong Kong to be the leader, chief planner and organizer to maximize the impact of our trip.

prof-nyaw-dr-limcq-cropped
Professor Nyaw MK (left) is a former Vice-President of Lingnan University here with Dr. Lim Chong Keang (Leader of the Delegation & Chairman of the Board of Governors, New Era University College).

The three institutions are considered by many Chinese educationists in Malaysia and Singapore as the successors of the original Nanyang University and hence many initiatives have been carried out by graduates of “Nanda” for the benefits of these three institutions.

Within a short time span of three full days, we visited six universities and colleges, all with its uniqueness that would give our group a deep, 360 degrees insight of the higher education scene in Hong Kong.

Day 1: The Chinese University of Hong Kong & Hang Seng Management College

We started off our hectic three days with one of Asia’s highest ranked universities, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. As I have had the opportunity to work as a postdoctoral researcher at the National University of Singapore (NUS), which is of the same “league” as CUHK, I could see many of the key characteristics of such high ranking institutions in CUHK. Starting from the greatly effective and efficient way that the international office planned out our visit to the arrangement for the meeting with the Vice-Chancellor that was done with military precision! The OxBridge-styled collegial system which was started from the inception of CUHK by the coming together of three independent colleges in 1963 has been proven to be highly effective in providing a sense of belonging for all students. It was a privilege and honour for me to have met Vice-Chancellor, Professor Joseph J.Y. Sung who is one of the “Asian Hero”, having led the team that contributed selflessly to the fighting of SARS epidemic in Hong Kong in 2003.

CUHK’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Joseph Sung (2nd from the right) is a prominent medical scientist and doctor who is one of the “Asian Hero” that fought the SARS epidemic in 2003.
CUHK’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Joseph Sung (2nd from the right) is a prominent medical scientist and doctor who is one of the “Asian Hero” that fought the SARS epidemic in 2003.

As all three Malaysian institutions had had a successful students exchange with CUHK this year (also sponsored kindly by Mr. Lim Soon Tiong) we felt very much “at home” at CUHK with several familiar faces such as Ms. Wendy Lou and Mr. Raymond Leung (who must have put in a lot of extra effort to make sure that we could maximize the impact of our visit). We were treated by Mr. Lim ST to a great lunch at the Hong Kong Jockey Club at Sha Tin. The Club has been the biggest benefactor of higher education institutions in Hong Kong for years.

Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the biggest donors to higher education institutions in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong Jockey Club is one of the biggest donors to higher education institutions in Hong Kong.

The second institution we visited on Day 1 was Hang Seng Management College (HSMC) which was founded as the Hang Seng School of Commerce by several directors of the famed Hang Seng Bank (and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index for stock market). Unlike CUHK, Han Seng Management College is a fully private and not-for-profit institution. Despite this big funding difference, HSMC is a very well equipped and well staffed institution of higher learning where many retired professors from the public institutions, notably CUHK have taken up appointments at HSMC thus conferring upon it a strong academic team under the leadership of President, Professor Simon S.M. Ho. Those of us who have visited or even worked for top ranked private universities and colleges in Malaysia would easily find HSMC as being better equipped (and better staffed) than their Malaysian equivalent. The hostels of HSMC was practical and yet reasonably priced for students. The campus, though not huge but is very well facilitated and well designed and built. Again the financial support of Hong Kong Jockey Club as well as that of the families of directors / founders of the Hang Seng Bank is very evident. Unlike CUHK, HSMC is very focused on niche areas of business and finance, mass communication, supply chain management, and interpretation & translation. HSMC also provides a niche area in humanities as well.

The training theatre for students reading interpretation and translation at Hang Seng Management College is one of most modern state-of-the art facility in Hong Kong.
The training theatre for students reading interpretation and translation at Hang Seng Management College is one of most modern state-of-the art facilities in Hong Kong.

We were introduced to the office bearers of the Chinese Executive Club (an association under the auspices of The Hong Kong Management Association) who treated us to a great dinner. Our benefactor, Mr. Lim ST is a former chairman of this Club which was founded to help business leaders who find it more comfortable to socialize and exchange ideas in their native tongue, Cantonese.

Day 2: Lingnan University & Chu Hai College of Higher Education

Lingnan University being known as “The Liberal Arts University of Hong Kong” has lived up to its mantra as it was named as one of the top ten liberal arts colleges in Asia by Forbes in 2015. Lignan, one of the eight public universities in Hong Kong, is the only institution of higher learning that practices a full four years residential system for all its undergraduate students. Thus being fully residential has conferred Lingnan with a unique way of enriching the on-campus lives for the students. It has a very innovative way of being “liberal arts centric” for its curriculum which stands its degree programmes apart from other institutions’ equivalent degree programmes. The teaching and learning at Lingnan which follow a very broad, almost North American curriculum styled, is a mix of liberal arts, humanities and general knowledge which gives its undergraduate students a more holistic education compared to the other Hong Kong colleges and universities which tend to favour and mirror the British system. I think because of this, Lingnan provides Malaysian diploma graduates with a more seamless transfer than other institutions in Hong Kong. Professor Leonard K. Cheng, President of Lingnan University hosted a working lunch for our delegation where he provided our group with a great insight to the higher education scene in Hong Kong. I was very intrigued by his account of his personal experiences of rising from a “semi legal” migrant from China to be an accomplished academician of today.

Professor Leonard Cheng (4th from the right) receiving a souvenir from our group leader, Dr. Lim CQ.
Professor Leonard Cheng (4th from the right) receiving a souvenir from our group leader, Dr. Lim CK.

Chu Hai College of Higher Education (CHC) is an independent, self-finance and privately operated institution. It traces its origin back to 1947 when the institution was founded in Guangzhou, China. Today it occupies a campus overlooking the mouth of the Pearl River which in the opinion of many, gives it one of the best scenery of Hong Kong. It gives significance to many Chinese Malaysians as it would have been the view that our ancestors were looking at when they left their homeland a century or more ago to come to “nanyang”, South East Asia. In contrast to Hang Seng Management College, CHC academic programmes cover four broad areas of Arts & Social Sciences; Science & Engineering; and Business. The academic programmes offered by CHC range from Communication, Journalism; Computer Science, Civil Engineering & Architecture; to Business Administration, Banking & Finance. It has a very state-of-the-art broadcasting studio for its journalism and communication students.

This view taken from Chu Hai College President Chang Ching Nan's office, offered the best view of the Pearl River mouth.
This view taken from Chu Hai College President Chang Ching Nan’s office, offered the best view of the Pearl River mouth.

Day 2 concluded with with a dinner at a posh restaurant specializing in cuisines from northern China at Tsim Sha Tsui area overlooking Hong Kong island which was a special treat by Professor Nyaw. We were also rewarded with the best night scenery of Hong Kong.

Day 3: The Open University of Hong Kong and The Institute of Vocational Education @ Chai Wan

I had the privilege of visiting The Open University of Hong Kong (OUHK) in 2000 when I worked for Pearson plc where I was fully impressed with the then 3-years-old university. Sixteen years later, OUHK, which modeled after the Open University of the United Kingdom (OUUK) has progressed by leaps and bounds from offering just the “traditional” distance and open learning university programmes to offering full-time studies for high school graduates along the same model as the eight Hong Kong public universities. Although OUHK was established by the Hong Kong Government, it is operating as a self-financing institution. Along with undergraduate, postgraduate and research academic programmes, OUHK is well known for its strengths in the continuing education and professional training sectors. OUHK’s motto in Chinese is (a) 有教无类 (learning opportunity regardless of race, prior qualifications and gender); (b) 宽进严出 (ease on entry but strict on graduation); (c) 终身学习 (lifelong learning) which it has, over the years been servicing the needs of working adults (and now young people) successfully. Perhaps due to its OUUK influence, OUHK is more advanced in its collaboration in terms of delivery of its programmes with foreign institutions. We were enlightened by Associate Vice President, Professor Y.K. Ip of OUHK’s successes and milestones. Professor Ip also gave us many ideas where potential collaborations between OUHK and our three institutions could be forged. We learned that OUHK’s thriving nursing programme was one of the most sought after by students as the profession provides one of the highest salary in Hong Kong.

One of the most popular degree programmes of OUHK is the nursing programme.
One of the most popular degree programmes of OUHK is the nursing programme.

I had the opportunity to visit the Vocational Training Council (VTC) of Hong Kong during my stint at Pearson plc. in early 2000 to learn about the effort by the Hong Kong Government to bridge the gap between academic and vocation education to serve the craving of Hong Kong’s economy for technical and vocational professionals. I had suggested to Mr. Lim ST and Professor Nyaw that our delegation’s visit would not be complete unless we look at Hong Kong’s tertiary education sector in totality by visiting one of VTC’s vocational training institutions. Our last stop for this visit was therefore to Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education, Chai Wan (IVE-CW), hosted by Professor Sampson Poon, Principal of IVE-CW. The VTC is a government department which operates nine IVEs in Hong Kong which are fully funded by the Hong Kong Government. Hong Kong’s IVE perhaps have a lot of similarity with private colleges in Malaysia but with three notable exceptions. (1) Their facilities, especially the IT/computer science, culinary arts, videography, finance & investment, engineering and dispensary science (as evident in IVE-CW) are state-of-the-art, reflecting the vast investment by the VTC from the Hong Kong Government’s funding; (2) Their campuses aside from being better equipped than most Malaysian colleges, are very large, with great industrial linkages that ensure a career for every graduate; (3) The School of Higher and Professional Education (SHAPE) under VTC has been collaborating with foreign universities to offer top-up degree programmes for IVE’s higher diploma graduates for many years which is similar to top-up degree programmes that Malaysian private colleges were offering before the era of tight regulatory control of the Malaysian Qualifications Agency.  Another VTC’s institutions which is located at IVE-CW, Technological and Higher Education Institute of Hong Kong (THEi) offers its homegrown degree programmes under three faculties, namely, Design & Environment; Management & Hospitality; and Science & Technology. All together, twenty two homegrown bachelor degree programmes are offered by THEi. Thus together with SHAPE, THEi offer both homegrown as well as top-up degree programmes from external universities to IVE students.

The IVE in Hong Kong are better equipped than most private colleges in Malaysia. This is a shot on the Virtual Reality studio of IVE-CW.
The IVE in Hong Kong are better equipped than most private colleges in Malaysia. This is a shot of the Virtual Reality studio of IVE-CW.

The IVE system not only cater to the vocation education needs of Hong Kong people but also provides a “second chance” for high school graduates who are academically inclined but for whatever reason, have missed the boat of public/private universities to use the IVE’s diploma-higher diploma route towards an academic degree. The seamless continuation pathway for students in vocational training of the IVE system is one that Malaysia will do well to emulate. I was also intrigued by Professor Poon’s philosophy of teaching practical English usage to his diploma students rather than the “standard” academic English that some would find daunting.

From the left: Prof Nyaw MK, Prof Simpson Poon (of Institute of Vocational Education, Chai Wan), Mr. Lim Soon Tiong, and Mr. Mok Chek Hou (Deputy Chairman, Board of Governors of Southern University College) during a dinner hosted by Mr. Lim ST where the famous “大闸蟹” (lake large crab) was served.
From the left: Prof Nyaw MK, Prof Simpson Poon (of Institute of Vocational Education, Chai Wan), Mr. Lim Soon Tiong, and Mr. Mok Chek Hou (Deputy Chairman, Board of Governors of Southern University College) during a dinner hosted by Mr. Lim ST where the famous “大闸蟹” (lake large crab) was served.
Take Home Insights

Despite its economic strength and having a population of over seven millions, Hong Kong has only 20 degree-awarding higher education institutions compared to around 500 plus public and private tertiary institutions in Malaysia, about half of which offer degree programmes (either homegrown or in collaboration with local / foreign universities). This goes perhaps to show that quality and quantity as far as higher education is concern must be well balanced!

  1. The eight public universities are very well funded by the Hong Kong Government and overall their collective reputation worldwide is very high.
  2. The Hong Kong Government invests heavily in the remaining 18 degree-awarding institutions which are self-financing by generously providing them with land for their campuses, thus removing one of the highest investments in any such institutions.
  3. The self-financing institutions have access to interest-free loan for the development of their institutions from the Hong Kong Government.
    Thus via (2) and (3) above, the Hong Kong Government exerts indirect control over the development of the higher education sector and ensures its sustainability.
  4. Although the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (HKCAAVQ) which is the equivalent body to the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA), exert control over the standard of higher education in Hong Kong, all non-public institutions are allowed to award homegrown degrees without having Malaysia’s equivalent of “university college” status so long as all requirements of HKCAAVQ are fulfilled. This provides Hong Kong colleges with a competitive advantage over their Malaysian counterparts.
  5. The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) annually provides a huge amount of funding to higher education in Hong Kong. All the six institutions we visited have received substantial funding from HKJC which allowed buildings to be erected in the respective campuses, thus defraying another substantial cost element, especially for the self-financing institutions.
  6. The technical, vocational education and training sector of Hong Kong is very well run by the VTC and well funded by the Hong Kong Government. The seamless progression pathways to academic degrees for IVE higher diploma holders and the fact that the VTC has gained HKCAAVQ’s approval to offer twenty two homegrown degree programmes are testament to this observation.

There is just one big issue for any Malaysians who aspire to study in Hong Kong for a degree… that is, cost. Non-local students have to pay 30% more at both public and self-financing institutions, with the former’s tuition fees at HK$70,000 per year and latter’s being at around HK$130,000. The good news is, most Hong Kong institutions of higher learning do offer some form of financial aids to Malaysian students with the required academic credentials. Thus students in diploma programmes in Malaysian colleges with good tie-up with Hong Kong institutions (for example the three institutions represented in our delegation) will stand a better chance of getting some financial aids with collaborating institutions.

The IVEs which charge around HK$70,000 per year may be a bit more attractive to Malaysian students as their diploma and higher diploma can be completed by student with SPM (GCE ‘O’ level equivalent) qualifications only in two years. This allows such students to take another year to earn a top-up degree. The total time spent to earn a degree via the IVE-system will be about three years.

Since 2012 Hong Kong had changed from a 3-years degree to a 4-years degree system, Malaysian students will need to budget for four years of tuition fees if they want to study in Hong Kong. In addition, unlike the IVE system, SPM holders will need to complete STPM / GCE ‘A’ levels or foundation programme to be eligible for entry into Hong Kong institutions offering undergraduate degree programmes. Hence the IVE system or the Malaysian private colleges’ diploma provide better (shorter and perhaps cheaper) routes to a degree in Hong Kong.

Registry of Ph.Ds – how it could be best administered

The establishment of the Registry of Ph.D Holders will have one very clear “side-effect”. It will go a long way in separating the wheat from the chaff but since not all accredited overseas institutions award Ph.Ds, the list of institutions in the Registry may not fully represent all accredited overseas institutions but it does provide at least the first list of institutions where their Ph.D awards are recognised in Malaysia.

Commentary: (April 11, 2017):
On Apirl 03, 2017,  Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Datuk Dr. Mary Yap Kain Ching reported that her ministry will roll out a registry of Ph.Ds soon. But this will be confined to Ph.D holders from local institutions. This is a step in the right direction indeed. However one major problem area, those using fake Ph.Ds from foreign institutions or from degree mills are not covered. Based on my own gut feeling, the bulk of the pretenders are in the latter crowd. So this Ph.D registry may only catch the tip of the ice-berg.

I would like, if one of my readers forward my suggestions below to the power that be to tackle the issue still hiding below the ice-berg!

One comment in the above news report that caught my eyes was what Datuk Dr. Mary Yap said, “We all know those who said they finished their PhD within 10 months are fake PhD holders,”

In fact, the good Datuk took 5 years to complete her Ph.D and my learned beautiful and multi-talented friend (from our Doctorate Support Group in Facebook), Dr. Soo Wincci (#drsoowincci) took 6 years to complete hers proved that there is no short cut!

There has been a lot of news for the past few weeks on the need to set up a registry of Ph.D holders in Malaysia. These calls have been brought about by the increasingly serious issue of bogus Ph.Ds and people claiming to have honorary doctorates etc. which was proven to be bogus. I have also made references to this matter in an earlier post and there is a commentary on this issue recently.

In October 2016, the National Council of Professors (NCP) in Malaysia called for the setting up of this registry and hinted that they be given this task by the power that be. However, since not all Ph.D holders are members of this council, and by that, not many Ph.D holders actually are professors (and not all professors in Malaysian universities hold Ph.D or professional doctorates), this body may not be the best representation of the nation’s academic-intellectual power. The NCP further suggested that some charges be levied for the administration of this registry which implies that there may be some monetary gain by the said organisation should they be granted this task.

It was reported that the Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) would be working on setting up a Registry of Ph.Ds for Malaysia where all Ph.D holders from local universities (both public and private) would automatically be added to this Registry. It was mentioned that Malaysian Ph. D holders with their doctoral degrees awarded overseas will have to seek verification of their doctorate degrees. So far I have not been able to find the mechanism for such a verification process. Needless to say, this verification process will have to be effective, efficient, fair and transparent. There is also (as mentioned earlier) the need to sort out a cost effective way of administering this Registry.

I think perhaps the following suggestions might be considered by the power that be before deciding on how this Registry is to be administered.

  1. Ownership:
    The MoHE should be the custodian of this Registry which should be “owned” by the Malaysian Government. This will ensure that no parties can gain any financial advantage for owning the data the Registry so contained or make monetary gains for the administration of the Registry. The MoHE’s Registrar General and his/her staff is the right team to handle this since they have ample experience handling the registration of around 500 active private colleges and universities where many of the Ph.D holders are already in the MoHE’s databases. This will make cross checking of data and verifications work more effectively accomplished.
  2. Criteria of admission:
    There must be a clear, but simple to use set of criteria for admission to the Registry. The admission of a Ph. D holder should be done once all the criteria have been met. There should not be any hint of any “approval” step or steps in the process. Anyone with a bone fide Ph.D (that is verifiable) shall be admitted to the Registry. No one should be denied a place in the Registry because of his/her colour, creed, ethnicity, religion or political affiliation. Getting on the Registry should be considered the same as getting on to the electoral roll –  it is a right and not a privilege. Thus the cost of registration should be made as low as possible where I would suggest that the MoHE be granted a yearly budget by the Treasury for the administration of the Registry. We need to stress the fact that not all Ph.Ds are earning big bucks. There are the freshly minted ones who may not have a job or the senior ones who have already retired. Thus the cost to register in this Registry shall not be made a deterrent to those who may not be so financially endowed. RM10 – RM50 should be the the range for the registration fees for  the administration of this Registry.
  3. Transparency & Peers Review:
    The entire process of registration should be fully transparent to give the Ph.D holders and the other stakeholders confidence in the entire system. Perhaps the transparency can be extended to the data held such that each registrant will be having a “page” where her/his expertise, papers published etc. (but not personal details) will be listed. This will serve one further purpose: anyone who have slipped through the filtering process may be “caught” at this stage as the page will be open to anyone on the internet. Peers review is a very powerful tool for the Registry administrator to use. The power that be should take a leave from the career/job/hiring social medium platform, Linkedin where few of the members have (or dared) to put in false credentials as these could be easily “discovered”. Perhaps for more senior Ph.D holders, the need to verify their credentials may not be that stringent as many would have Linkedin profiles where their respective “contacts” would have studied and scrutinized their credentials before accepting them as “contacts”.My Linkedin profile is more credible not because of my own data but the “contacts” that I have who are more established scientists, entrepreneurs etc. than yours truly had verified my credentials and are willing “to be seen” as a part of my network. This philosophy is actually the key success factor of Linkedin. “I am credible because my many contacts have verified my credentials directly by linking with me”. It is not the same as Facebook! Thus the Registry may have features that mirror that of Linkedin to allow senior, established Ph.D holders to help in the verification process in the “Linkedin” way. In fact, I would risk saying that the MoHE should discuss with Linkedin to find a way to maximize the “social verification” features of this platform and the MoHE may be well advised to considering “putting” the Registry on this platform.
  4. Leverage on Foreign Universities:
    All bone fide institutions of higher learning worldwide will want their academic awards be recognized. This should therefore be the key to getting foreign institutions to contribute to the work needed to administer the Registry. However there are key questions that the power that be needs to have answer to, namely:
  • Is there a way to make sure that overseas universities submit themselves to be included in the Registry?
  • Can we make it simple and accept all universities that are accredited in their home countries?
  • Can we make use of the diplomatic missions in Malaysia to be responsible for keeping this list updated for their respective countries?
  • What about those countries without representation in Malaysia? Can we use some international association like The Association of Commonwealth Universities … even the listing for Malaysia is not complete with only 21 institutions (with many Malaysian public universities not listed the organization)…

MoHE can also leverage on the foreign universities to shoulder a big part of the burden in verifying their own graduates’ credentials. It is after all, to the very institution’s advantage to make sure that their graduates are fully recognized. Thus the MoHE could in fact make a “standard” arrangement with the education authorities of each of these nations so that the list of new Ph.D holders (with verifiable details provided) each year (and that of previous years) could be supplied to the MoHE by each interested institution. My son’s alma mater, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA even has a website that provides verified details of its graduates principally for the benefits of prospective employers. Thus giving them confidence of the data held at the website and a way to cross check the resume of UNL’s graduates readily. Perhaps MoHE can tap into this sort of databases to make the verification process a lot faster and effective.

The establishment of the Registry of Ph.D Holders will have one very clear “side-effect”. It will go a long way in separating the wheat from the chaff but since not all accredited overseas institutions award Ph.Ds, the list of institutions in the Registry may not fully represent all accredited overseas institutions but it does provide at least the first list of institutions where their Ph.D awards are recognized in Malaysia. What the Registry also need is a “compliant” segment where if anyone’s credential is challenged, there is a fast-track way for the complaint to be studied and verified. There must also be a heavy penalty for the supply of false information by the registrants. Thus I suggested that the Registrar General’s office shall be the best authority to deal with this as there are already some provisions in ACT 555 and related acts of parliament that have penalty clauses which can be used.

When the Registry is ready, I shall be one of the first to want my name to be on it!

Telegram: solving registration problem on mobile via desktop version

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I was on Facebook Messenger chatting with my old friend, ex-colleague and fellow parent-teacher-association pioneers of SJK(C) Tun Tan Cheng Lock (Chinese primary school), Dr. Margaret Liew today. She lives in the USA & told me that I could get her on Telegram much more readily than FB Messenger. She did not like Whatsapp because she gets too many messages especially from groups that might mask/push down friends’ crucial messages.

Off I went to put back Telegram on my Android powered Xiaomi Note 3. The installation via Google Play was fast and event-less. But I got stuck when I tried to register my mobile phone with Telegram’s server. “member_occupy_primary_loc_failed” was played out. I repeated the registration, getting yet another SMS with the required code from Telegram’s server and yet there was the same error message. Then I proceeded to reboot my mobile phone. Same frustrating error message came out. Then I remember, this was the very reason for me to give up on Telegram in the first place.

Not being a person who gets defeated so readily, I went on Google to find clues on how to solve this “Telegram mystery” and was somehow pointed to a site (I guess it is Telegram’s own) that provided desktop versions of the mobile messaging software in API format. There, I found not only the usual Windows version of the desktop app, there were even 64 and 32 bits for Linux too.

I use LXLE, a lighter version of the popular Linux distribution named Ubuntu (yeah, I prefer Linux which is faster and safer to Windows and my older computers can run just as fast as the new ones on LXLE). Of course if you are using Windows, the .exe file that you can download will self install when you click it and you need not bother with fiddling with the decompression of the file etc. set out below for Linux users.

I faced a slight problem. The Telegram API for Linux did not come in the easily installable format of “.deb” which I could just download and click (much like the “.exe” files for Windows). Instead it was a compressed file that needed me to use the terminal and commands to decompress and activate. After several sites which gave me the wrong instructions, I found a site that gave the correct instructions. I followed the “old fashion” way as listed in this site and viola, Telegram Desktop version was working on my laptop.

Good, clear & concise instruction to handle compressed file to install Telegram api.
Good, clear & concise instruction to handle compressed file to install Telegram api.

I then proceeded to successfully register for an account with Telegram’s server after giving my mobile number. This solved the issue of registration. But it still did not solve my problem with registering Telegram on my mobile phone. Just when I was about to give up, I received the first message from Telegram itself. There was a code given that I was instructed to use on my mobile phone to link both the desktop and mobile versions of the app. The moment this code was keyed into my mobile phone’s Telegram app, the problem was solved. Telegram actually worked on my mobile!

screenshot-telegram-msg
A message with a linking code was sent to the desktop version for me to link up this account to my mobile app… Problem Solved!

For Whatsapp users, Telegram has most of the features that one will need including Groups, profile etc. What it has that is a bit unique is the feature to allow one to put in a username. It will generate a link that you can share with your contacts. This comes handy if you are not willing to give your mobile phone number to someone and it makes adding new contact very easy. In my case I did not have Dr. Liew’s US mobile number and I just use FB Messenger to share my username link with her and 10 seconds later we were connected!

The desktop app for Linux means that unlike Whatsapp, I do not need to open a tab on my browser each time I switch on my laptop and do the QR Code scanning etc., this makes using Telegram on desktop that much easier.

Lock in your tax benefit from SSPN-i saving NOW!

Hands up, if you have heard of SSPN-i?…

Hands up, if you have heard of PTPTN?…

My guess is, if you are a Malaysian living in the homeland, I would be surprised if you do not know what PTPTN is. Perbadaan Tabung Pendidikan Nasional (PTPTN or National Higher Education Fund Corporation) is the body that Malaysian students studying in accredited tertiary institutions apply for funding for their studies. One cannot help but notice news about PTPTN due to its defaulters issues.

Wait! What is SSPN-i? Is it related to PTPTN in any way? You may want to ask.

In fact SSPN-i (Skim Simpanan Pendidikan Nasional – National Education Saving Scheme) is the saving scheme of the PTPTN. It encourages parents to save for their children tertiary education. In fact, since Jan 01, 2012 tertiary students will need to have a SSPN-i account before they are eligible to apply for any PTPTN loans. SSPN-i pays dividend yearly which hovered between 2.5% to 4.25% with the latest figure for 2015 at 4%. Not impressed? But this should not be the main reason for you to invest for your children tertiary education fund in SSPN-i, especially if you are paying income tax. The key attraction to investing in SSPN-i for a tax payer like me is in the RM6,000 maximum amount of tax relief per year for net deposit in your child’s SSPN-i account.

You need not be a mathematics boffin to work out that the RM6,000 tax relief will count for RM1,200 for me as my average tax rate is around 20% (… gee am I revealing too much here?). Look at it another way, I would “gain” RM1,200 because I had deposited RM6,000 in 2016 to my daughter’s SSPN-i account. I would still gain a tax-free dividend of around 3 – 4%, which will be the same as what one would get from a normal bank saving account. 23% return on my investment with 20% “guaranteed” and “immediate” when I compute my tax for 2016 next year is nothing you can get legally anywhere in Malaysia. SSPN-i is also a government guaranteed investment. It is a no-brainer really, that is if you are liable to pay income tax for 2016.

In my case, I have just deposited another RM3,000 today adding to the RM3,000 I had already invested in October 2016 to  maximize my “returns”. As my wife’s business earning for 2016 is very minimal, and we have only one child who is a minor (thankfully our son has graduated from university last week!), we could not take full advantage of the “RM6,000 per child” SSPN-i tax relief. However if you have a dual-income  family where both spouses pay income tax (i.e. each of you earn more than the minimum “qualifying” annual income to earn the privilege to pay income tax), and you have children, you will do nothing better than to raid your children’s piggy bank, saving accounts etc. and invest to the maximum sum.

As the profile image has shown, if you hurry to deposit cash in related bank (I went to Maybank, USJ Taipan), a nice PTPTN staff will be on hand to help you with your SSPN-i if you need one and he/she will give you a nicely shaped “golden egg” as a piggy bank for your child and a very good quality recycle bag for mom or dad. Do hurry, at the time of writing (Dec 22,2016) there are only five more banking days left! If you have already opened SSPN-i accounts, you need not go the bank to deposit, Maybank and CIMB online banking portals also accept your money online. Whatever you do, please beat the Dec 31, 2016 deadline!

Since 2015, there is another type of SSPN-i account called SSPN-i Plus which comes with life insurance (Takaful) coverage. However you can only gain the additional RM6,000 tax relief (in addition to the RM6,000 for SSPN-i) if you have not topped the Employee Provident Fund /Life insurance quota of RM6,000. And for SSPN-i there is some monthly commitment of a minimum of RM50. So for most income taxpayers, SSPN-i may be the better choice. More details are found in this Lowyat discussion forum.

Wishing all my readers Merry Christmas (for those who are celebrating) and a happy and prosperous 2017.