The Universities and University Colleges Act in Malaysia: History, Contexts and Development

Abstract

(AUKU) is the main legislation that governs public universities. It was enacted in 1971 and amended six times that had profound implications for the development of higher education, particularly on the governance and autonomy of public universities. However, the days of AUKU are numbered as the current Government in its election manifesto has slated for the act to be revoked and abolished. This paper examines the historical and chronological development of AUKU, more specifically the socio-politicaleconomic situation at the time of enactment and each subsequent amendment. In addition, the article also explores thematic issues related to AUKU, namely academic freedom and autonomy as well as the control of the State and Government on public universities.

Effects of Leadership Types on Job Satisfaction Among Malaysian Higher Education Institutions

“…The modern Malaysian Higher Education system started right after the country's independence in 1957 by establishing the University of Malaya as the first public university in Kuala Lumpur (Wan, 2019). The development of the modern Malaysian higher education system can be divided into three stages.…”

“…Malaysian public institutions, including polytechnics and community colleges, are governmentfunded higher education institutions overseen by the Ministry of Education Malaysia (Wan, 2019). Meanwhile, universities and colleges that are privately owned and rely on corporate investment, alumni, and student finance are referred to as Malaysia's private higher education institutions.…”

The Effect of Business Technology Strategy on Inward Export Performance in the Malaysian Higher Education Industry

“…Based on the data of [25], the number of foreign students enrolled in public and private HEIs increased from 27,872 in 2002 to 70,000 in 2007, then increased to 86,919 in 2010. Malaysia's higher education institutions attracted 114,653 international students in 2015, around 133,860 international students in 2017 [26], and 1,325,699 international students in 2019 [27]. This figure was expected to increase to 200,000 by 2020 [25]; however, it has not been achieved.…”