THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DILEMMA:
THE CHALLENGE OF VISION 2020 AT THE MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY (CYBERJAYA,
MALAYSIA)
MAR ELEPANO
MMU
QUSSAY SALIH
MMU
ABSTRACT
This paper will attempt to examine the realities and challenges of Information Technology
education at the MultiMedia University, Cyberjaya, Malaysia. Education in Malaysia in this field
has been greatly influenced by the national agenda to turn Malaysia into a developed country by
2020. It will discuss this initiative which carries complex issues within the nation’s economic and
educational policies. Another area of investigation will be the dynamic cultural aspect of
Malaysian life that provides the foundation for any type of academic experience in this multiracial society. There are the important issues of ethnicity, language and language proficiency,
social practices and attitudes that affect academic life. The final area of investigation will be the
vitality and quality of academic life itself.
The general methodology to be used will be interviews and discussions with students, faculty
and staff. The areas to be covered will be performance of lecturers and students and how it is
evaluated, curriculum effectiveness, standards of excellence, management of facilities, campus
life, outreach, and internships (also known as “industrial training”). The period of this study will
cover the Third Trimester December 2001 – April 2002.
The goal of the paper is to assess how close the academic life of MMU is to the national vision
for development. We would also like to determine if the university is providing a powerful
learning environment to its constituency in information technology. How is it responding to the
IT dilemma - is it succeeding in nurturing the intellectual and human development of the
individual in a complex society that is now relying on the promise of information technology for
its national development?
1
“SERAJAH MALAYSIA”- The Malaysia Annals
About 4000 years ago the ancestors of the Malays started migrating to the peninsula we now
associate with the modern state of Malaysia. The Deutero-Malayans were presumably animists.
Later they were to be influenced by Buddhism with the rise of the Srivijaya kingdom in the 7 th
century and the Hindu Majapahit in the 14th century. The Malays trace the beginnings of their
cultural identity to the Kingdom of Malaka. In 1396 Sumatran Prince Parameswara rebelled
against the Majapahit and escaped to the Malay Peninsula. He established himself in the port city
we now know as Malaka. His kingdom was to dominate the region for more than a hundred years.
At the height of its powers, it controlled all of modern West Malaysia and parts of Thailand and
Sumatra. From this came oral and written histories and mythologies like the “Sejarah Melayu”
(The Malay Annals) and the legend of the Five Warriors (Hang Jebat, Hang Tuah, Hang Kasturi,
Hang Lekir, Hang Lekiu) that has become the foundations of traditional Malay pride and identity.
Parameswara’s conversion to Islam (he later became Sultan Iskandar Shah) was one of the most
pivotal acts of his political career. In contemporary Malaysia, to be Malay is to be Muslim. The
coming centuries were to witness Malaysia’s painful interaction with European expansion in the
region. The Portuguese invaded Malaka in 1511. They were later replaced by the Dutch and their
trading company – United East India Company (VOC), in 1641. Finally the British came in 1795
with their own trading company –East India Company. A colorful adventurer – James Brooke
established the beginnings of the British presence in East Malaysia (Malaysian Borneo) in 1841.
Malaka’s prominence was to be replaced by Penang and Singapore in trade and colonial
government. The British economic exploitation of the region produced a pivotal demographic
phenomenon – the massive immigration of Chinese and Tamil laborers in the late 19 th and early
20th centuries. They were to become the labor force and backbone of the tin mines and rubber
plantations. More significantly, they were to create the other half of the contemporary Malaysian
political experience. The Japanese colonial expansion and occupation of 1941-45 proved to the
Malaysians that European power was neither absolute nor reliable. The idea of nationhood was
possible. Malaysia’s social cohesion was to be tested in the communist insurgency of 1948.
Known as the Emergency, it was finally extinguished in the mid-60’s through a successful
combination of military and psychological initiatives implemented mostly by the British
colonists. The defeat of the insurgents can also be attributed to the demographic factor- the prime
movers of the insurgency came from the Chinese sector. They failed in establishing an effective
constituency in the Malay and Hindu communities. In this instance racial indifference has worked
in the favor of the status quo. Finally on August 31, 1957 the idea of nation became official.
Malaya became Malaysia. The first Prime Minister was the venerable Tungku Abdul Rahman.
His leadership was severely tested by the second upheaval of Malaysian society – May 13, 1969
aka “the Incident”. This was a race riot between the Chinese and the Malay which resulted in
several hundred dead and thousands injured. This practically ended the political career of the
Bapak Malaysia – Tungku Abdul Rahman. The incident became further motivation for the
national legislation that gave preference to the Malays (known officially as “bumiputras”-children
of the earth) specifically in the areas of business and education. This became the NEP (New
Economic Policy) later to be known as NDP (National Development Program) administered by
the MARA (Majlis Amanah Rakyat – Council of Trust for the Indigenous People). This naturally
caused further racial tension which has so far been contained by a remarkable unspoken social
contract among all Malaysians. It seems that all members of Malaysian society are willing to
sacrifice their privileges to help other members of Malaysian society to come up and catch up
with everybody else economically. This is the very delicate dance of racial interaction that is
holding this multi-racial society together. Perhaps the most prominent Malaysian political leader
that has successfully mastered this social dynamic tension is Dr. Mahatir Mohamad- the 4th and
the longest ruling prime minister of this nation.
2
“MALAYSIA BOLEH” -Malaysia can do it!
Dr. Mahatir’s Malaysia is quite “miraculous”. The gross national product has increased from US$
3.13 billion (1965) to US$ 136 billion (1993). The average per capita income is now at US$ 4,000
which places Malaysia in the developing country category. By 1993, half of its exports were
manufactured goods. It is now considered one of the top 15 trading nations of the world. It was
able to survive the economic crisis of the mid 80’s and more recently the late 90’s. It has a
formidable achievement in education. Only 22 percent of the nation is illiterate. When Dr.
Mahatir was a college student there were only 4 universities in Malaysia, now there are 623
institutions of higher learning. The nation is now able to participate successfully in the global
economy because of this successful educational infrastructure. It is also because of this strong
educational initiative that it is able to create a skilled workforce and is also now finally going
back to the use of English in the public schools. National pride in bahasa aside, the nation has
realized that English proficiency is one of the foundations in the successful participation in the
global economy (specifically the web in terms of what is now fashionably called the K economy).
Dr. Mahatir and his government are not without its problems and critics. They almost lost in the
1987 elections. The controversy over the firing and imprisonment of his former deputy prime
minister – Anwar Ibrahim, together with the constant accusations of his and his government’s
betrayal of the Malay Islamic heritage made by the opposition party PAS (Parti Aslam
Samalaysia- The Islamic Party) and the many manifestations of the ISA (Internal Security Act) on
the Malaysian national psyche have all cast an irritating shadow on his achievements. All things
considered when one asks ordinary Malaysian citizens about the state of their country and its
future they will invariably say with much optimism and justification- “Malaysia boleh!”
VISION 2020 or “Malaysia Boleh ?”
If everything goes according to plan, Malaysia will be a developed country by the year 2020. This
is the national strategy known as Vision 2020. A pivotal component of this is the MSC aka
Multimedia Super Corridor. MSC had its humble beginnings as a feasibility study made by
McKenzie Consulting. It became an official government initiative in 1995 when it was launched.
It is a brilliant plan to create an environment – a technology hub - that will generate the
components for the economic growth needed to bring Malaysia to developed country status in
2020. The focus of the initiative is the rapid development of information technology and
multimedia first in the MSC physical corridor then the rest of the country. This physical corridor
is a 15 by 50 kilometer zone which can be conveniently defined as the area bounded by KLCC
(Kuala Lumpur City Center) and the KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport). This includes
two new “intelligent garden cities” – Putrajaya – the new seat of the national government and
Cyberjaya – the Silicon Valley of this region. So far this physical infrastructure has been a
successful real estate development venture. It has created its own reflective economy. There are
and will be laws that will encourage local and foreign businesses to invest and participate in this
hub and also to protect their intellectual property rights with what is now called cyberlaws. To
manage all this effectively an independent organization was created – the MDC- Multimedia
Development Corporation. Malaysian society is now constantly and excitedly asking itself:
3
“Vision 2020….boleh?” Almost always a question like this usually generates a host of other
questions.
“KENAPA I.T. DAN MULTIMEDIA?”- Why IT & Multimedia?
It is predicted that by the year 2005 the information technology and multimedia industries will
generate US$ 149.2 billion. Much of the global economy can now only be functional through the
use of information technology. In the end it is a very simple but powerful idea – the delivery of
electronic information by using computers and telecommunications. It comes with an elegant
iteration – multimedia – the delivery of electronic information through the use of sound (audio)
and moving images (video) again through computers and telecommunications. The economy that
results from this activity is now known as the knowledge economy (k economy) and the people
involved in it are knowledge workers. This is the key to the success of Vision 2020. It is
economic growth spearheaded by the development of Malaysia’s IT and multimedia industries
and initiatives. A pivotal element in this is the education and training of the Malaysian knowledge
worker. The government has realized this and has encouraged the establishment of universities
and institutes of higher learning that provide IT and multimedia education and training. During
the period 1999 – 2001 there were 137,212 IT/Engineering graduates in the country. Currently
there are 17 universities and 25 institutions of higher learning that offer degrees, diplomas,
certificates and courses in this field in Malaysia. Among them is Multimedia University.
“KENAPA MULTIMEDIA UNIVERSITY?”
The national utilities provider Telekom Malaysia created the subsidiary UTSB which soon
after started UNITELE aka Universiti Telekom in November 1996. This is Malaysia’s first
private university and it was sited auspiciously in that special place in Malay culture where
everything began- Malaka. On July 9.1999, Prime Minister Dr. Mahatir Mohamed launched this
university as Multimedia University with the main campus in Cyberjaya and the branch campus
in historic Malaka. Its mandate is unequivocal. It must become the leader in the educational
initiative of Vision 2020. The choice of its name is deliberate and heavily symbolic in that it
affirms the commitment of Dr. Mahatir and his government to the Multimedia Super Corridor and
its promise to bring prosperity to the nation.
Currently MMU (Multimedia University) has 12,000 students. Its main campus has four faculties
– Engineering, Information Technology, Management and Creative Multimedia. The Malaka
campus has three faculties – Engineering & Technology, Information Science & Technology,
Business & Law and one Center for Education Studies and Extension Education. Its operational
structure, facilities, teaching & learning models have to reflect the culture of its mandate- the IT
& multimedia culture. As a result MMU has online courses, registration and teacher evaluation.
Its campuses are fully networked. It is now using WLAN technology. Its administration is now
paperless and web-based. It has implemented the use of the smart card and various aspects of ecommerce for its constituents. It provides 24 hour internet access to the students who live in its
hostels. To insure the quality of service of this IT environment, it has two Centers of Excellence
that provide a rapid response to ongoing issues. The CITS (Center for Information Technology
4
Services) creates and maintains the online services and websites and also maintains all equipment
except the computer labs. The CMED (Center for Multimedia & Educational Development) is
constantly developing research on how to improve the interactivity and effectiveness of courses
online and multimedia learning systems. The faculties also have Centers of Excellence. These are
comprised of academic staff and tutors (students doing post graduate studies) and their goal is to
do ground breaking research in specialized areas. MMU also has collaborations with international
companies like NTT, Fujitsu, Alcatel, Nokia, Lucent, IBM, Intel & Microsoft. This emphasis on
research has produced 7 patents that are currently being considered by the Malaysian government.
FIT/MMU
To further understand IT education at MMU, it will be necessary to go into some of the details of
the curricular, organizational, financial structure of the educational experience of its Faculty of
Information Technology. The faculty offers 6 bachelor degrees: Information Systems Engineer,
Software Engineering, Multimedia Systems, Multimedia Technology Management, Software &
Animation, Software Engineering & Games Design. It takes 3 years to complete a degree.
Usually a student will take a year of Pre- University or “A” levels aka STPM before starting. The
school year is built on the trimester system. This is a rigorous all year round system with 2 – 14
week trimesters and 1 – 8 week trimester. The first year is purely course work. The second year
will have a period of industrial training where the student actually does not attend classes but
goes to work in a professional IT environment and the third year will be devoted to the
completion of a Final Year Project. Senior students are encouraged to take the FITEE
(Fundamental Information Technology Engineering Examination). This is the rigorous exam
given to IT engineers before they can be certified in Japan. This was started last year and the
students who have taken it have scored about 50% of their Japanese counterparts’ scores. It cost
about RM$ 16 – 20,000 year to study at MMU. This includes living expenses. 90% of the
students get government loans. These have a 4% interest and can be payable anywhere from 10 –
20 years. The rest are self supporting. There were 1154 students enrolled at the FIT last 2001. The
admissions procedure has become very rigorous. Currently 6 out of 7 applicants are rejected.
There are 41 lecturers at FIT. Half of them are expatriates. There are 20 tutors. They assist the
teachers and comprise the post graduate program. They will be typically doing research on their
Masters dissertation while the lecturers are usually required to pursue their Doctoral research
within the university. There are 10 knowledge workers that comprise the lab staff. There are 5
members of the administrative staff. FIT has 10 teaching labs each having 40 PC’s for students, 1
for the lecturer & 1 for the Lab staff. There are 2 research labs. There are typically three types of
classrooms: a) the tutorial room – for 40 people, b) the lecture room – for 100 people, c) the
lecture hall – for 200 people. These are all equipped with audio visual equipment, LCD
projectors, visualizers, a PC with internet access. Finally, FIT currently has 13 local and
international industry collaborations.
DILEMMAS & CHALLENGES
The following observations and suggestions are based on interviews with a sampling of the
faculty, students and staff of FIT.
Facilities & Resources:
5
1. The Lab Technical Staff can benefit from regular short workshops to upgrade
their skills.
2. The design of the teaching labs can be improved so that the lecturer can have
better visual contact with the student and the student’s screen. The lecturer
should also be allowed to control what is on the students screen by implementing
a networked monitor environment.
3. The lighting design of the classrooms should be improved. Presently the rooms
are generally too bright for LCD projection because the window blinds are white
and translucent.
4. More recreational facilities should be added to improve the quality of campus
life. Cyberjaya life campus can benefit immensely from the building of a
swimming pool.
5. Technical books used in highly specialized classes should be made available to
the students in time for their classes.
Cultural Issues:
1. English language proficiency has to be improved. It becomes an impediment to
the participation of the students in the classroom. This can partially explain the
“shyness” of Malaysian students. It may also be a reason why there are fewer
Malay students at MMU. They would prefer to go to a public university where
Bahasa is generally the medium of instruction.
2. A student’s work ethic seems to be affected by the specific demographic situation
the student is placed in. If the student is an ethnic minority in the school they
tend to work harder and excel. For example Malay students tend to do better in
private universities because they are the minority while Chinese students excel in
public universities where they are the minority.
3. The preferential treatment of Malay students has generally been greeted by
acceptance and a sense of sacrifice for the good of Malaysian society by the nonMalay students. Although the lecturers have pointed out that this has been a
major factor in the creation of a culture on under achievement among some
Malay students. This opinion is shared by no less than Dr. Mahatir himself.
4. Co-curricular activities are essential and effective in providing a creative venue
for social interaction, leadership and organization among the students.
Curricular Issues:
1. Emphasis should be placed on basic programming skills. Students should be
encouraged to master only a few important tools so they can attain an effective
level of proficiency. The tendency is to teach them too many tools to use. The
result is that they find it difficult to use any one language effectively.
2. There should be a more effective curriculum structure for each degree track with
the emphasis on good foundation classes to be immediately followed by relevant
intermediate and advanced classes that build on the foundation classes. A poor
curriculum design creates time gaps that impede effective learning for the
student.
3. More relevant electives should be made available to the students.
4. Add Networking and Database Management degree to FIT.
Structural Issues:
1. Assign the best and most effective lecturers to the 1st year students in their
foundation classes. Most often the most effective lecturers are assigned to the
6
2.
3.
4.
5.
advanced and high level classes. The less effective lecturers handle the 1st year
students with the result of less students being motivated and inspired than more.
There is a shortage of supervisors for the numerous post graduate research
projects that are required among the tutors and lecturers.
There is a turnover of lecturers for various reasons. This presents problems of
continuity in the important areas of student mentorship and institutional memory.
In some cases the size of the classes becomes an impediment to effective
teaching and learning. Classes that are 150-200 students should be mercifully
reduced to half.
Generally speaking the lecturers are overloaded with responsibilities. A typical
lecturer has to do the ff: give a lecture, conduct a lab, give the exams, grade them
and the papers, be responsible for administering the industrial training of most
students, publish 3 papers in one year (1 in an international journal and 2 in local
journals), do postgraduate research, participate in a Center of Excellence or
another committee. This happens on a trimester schedule. The result is that they
can barely do their postgraduate research and have less of an opportunity to be
innovative in their classroom teaching because of the limited time for classroom
preparation. They are also limited in their publication output. Perhaps it would be
a good idea to revert to a two semester schedule so the lecturers can have some
creative space for their research and teaching innovations, assign the
administration of the students’ industrial training to the regular administrative
staff, assign lecturers to either research only or teaching only functions.
Pedagogical Issues:
1. Teach to the median student. The greatest challenge for a teacher is to incite a
non-achiever into self-learning.
2. Require more innovation from the students and less memorization.
3. Get students to appreciate basic ideas right from the start by allowing them to use
existing tools and models that work and do not have to build from scratch. Once
the understanding is achieved and the interest is nurtured then it will be the time
to guide them through the details of the tools they have to master.
4. Use both engineering and computer science learning models where the goal of
one is building things to learn (experiments) while the other is the creation of
functional and useful things.
“MMU…Boleh?”
The key to the success of MMU’s role in the educational initiative of Vision 2020 is its success in
creating a rich and dynamic learning/teaching environment. As has been observed universally by
its constituent students, faculty and staff there is generally no lack of physical and technological
infrastructure. The challenge is upgrading the quality of the human resource. This is only possible
through a careful consideration of the human factor. Creativity, innovation and dynamic learning
are not likely to occur in a stressful and hurried environment. It is necessary to create a strategy
and implement the structural changes that will allow the participants in MMU’s academic life the
time and space to replenish, nourish and nurture their inner resources. For their part, the lecturers
must strive to make the necessary adjustments in their pedagogical strategies and the students
must not be afraid to be challenged intellectually and to innovate on their own. This is a simple
yet compelling dilemma- do we proceed as we always have or do we change direction? In the end
how we answer this last question will determine the outcome of the IT dilemma.
7
“Saya ada cadangan.” – Afterthought.
There is a larger question that hangs over contemporary Malaysian society – is 2020 too soon?
From the education standpoint it is reachable only if we implement IT education in all the
primary schools in Malaysia now. This plan exists. The government has a strategy to implement
the smart school in all 10,000 primary schools in Malaysia by 2010. As of this moment only 90
have been started. If this happens hopefully we will have an entire generation of young
Malaysians who will understand, embrace and participate in this complex journey. There are
many factors that will determine its success besides education. The political will of the
Malaysians and its current government will be severely tested. In the end it would seem that the
key to the success of MSC and Vision 2020 is not in the new developments in infrastructure. It
lies deep within Malaysian experience. We all have to go back to the village and nurture our most
important resource – anak anak kampung (children in the rural areas). It is through their
transformation that we can transform Malaysia. There will be new meaning to the phrase- “ Kami
semua balik kampung.” (We are going back to the village.)
REFERENCES:
Kennedy, J.: A History Of Malaya, Synergy Books, Kuala Lumpur, 1993.
Knopf Guides- Singapore And Malaysia, Knopf, New York, 1997.
Mahatir, M.: Malays Easily Forget, Pelanduk, Selangor, 2001.
Mahatir, M.: The Challenge, Pelanduk, Selangor, 1995.
Ministry of Education, Malaysia: (1997) Concept RFP Smart School Teaching-Learning Materials. 27
July 1997, pp. 1 – 2
MSC.comm: Volume 4 No. 2 August 2001, Cyberjaya.
MSC.comm: Special Issue September 2001, Cyberjaya.
Musa, Bakri M.: The Malay Dilemma Revisited, Merantau, Gilroy,
1999.
Planisek, Sandra L.: Malaysian Academic Life: An Orientation For Americans On Fulbright Exchange
Programs, Maju Tulis Sdn. Bhd., Malaysia, 1992.
Reger, KH et al.: Malaysia-Singapore-Brunei, Nelles, Munic,1977.
INTERVIEWEES LIST
(Interviews were conducted during the Third Trimester period – 10 December 2001 to 29 March
2002 at MMU Faculty of Information Technology, Cyberjaya.)
Lecturers;
Prof. George Chacko
Prof. Y.P. Singh
Assad Abdallah Yousof Malik
8
Helmi Mohamed Hussain
Lee Chien Sing
Michael Hartwig
Qussay A. Salih
Toufik Taibi
Wong Ya Ping
Staff:
Ng Hu – Lab Engineer
Rosli Bin Ab Rashid – Senior Driver
Zulkifly Mohd. Zaki – Assistant Director
Students:
Chuah Teong Yau
Hoo Nee Shen
Ho Son Ni
Jeevan Prasad
Ow Choong Seong
Mah Chee Soon
Yeo Yean Mei
Yoong Sher Min
INSTITUTIONS OFFERING DEGREES, DIPLOMAS, COURSES & TRAINING IN
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND MULTIMEDIA IN MALAYSIA 2002
UNIVERSITIES
Kolej Universiti Terengganu
Monash University Malaysia
Multimedia University
Universiti Islam Antabangsa Malaysia
Univeristi Kebangsaan Malaysia
University of Malaya
Universiti Malaysia Sabah
Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
Universiti Putra Malaysia
Universiti Sains Malaysia
University of Nottingham in Malaysia
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
Universiti Teknologi Mara
Universiti Tenaga Nasional
Universiti Teknologi Petronas
Universiti Tun Abdul Razak
Universiti Utara Malaysia
INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
Asia Pacific Institute of Higher Learning
Binary College
Cosmopoint Institute od Information Technology
9
Flamingo Institute of Further Education
HELP Institute
Ikram College of Technology
Informatics College
Institute Megatech
Institute Technologi Jaya
INTI College Malaysia
Kolej Bandar Utama
Kolej Damansara Utama
L&G Twintech Institute of Technology
Limkokwing Institute of Technology
Olympia College
PTPL College
Sedaya College
Sepang Institute of Technology
Sunway College
Systematic Education Group of Colleges
Taylor’s College
Terengganu Advanced Technical Institute
The Center for Advanced Design (CENFAD)
The One Academy of Communication Design
TAR College
PRESENTERS’ BIOGRAPICAL SKETCH:
MAR ELEPANO- is a Fulbright Scholar /Lecturer at MMU/FIT (Cyberjaya) for the Third
Trimester – 10 Dec. 2001- 14 April 2002. He is a Lecturer and Production Supervisor in the
Animation Program of the School of Cinema/Television at the University of Southern California,
Los Angeles, California. He is also an independent experimental animator whose work has been
shown internationally; and he has taught animation, video & film to university, high school, and
elementary school students, as well as to inmates of the California State prisons.
QUSSAY A. SALIH - received his B.Sc. degree from the University of Nasser, Libya, in 1998
and M.Sc. degree from the University Putra Malaysia , Malaysia, in 2001. He is currently
pursuing his Ph.D. at the Computer Engineering Department at University Putra Malaysia. He is
also currently a lecturer with the Faculty of Information Technology at the Multimedia University
(MMU), Malaysia. His research activities include 3D Medical Image Processing, 3D Graphics
and Animation. He is currently doing research on Knowledge-based Hospital under the Center for
Virtual Reality and Computer Graphics of MMU.
10