Retaining top academics and learning from foreign university systems (Published in the Star 23/9/2006)

Retaining top academics and learning from foreign university systems

I would like to refer to your article entitled ‘Abdullah asks for ideas to check brain drain’ published by The Star on the 23rd September 2006.

I share our PM’s views about seeking feedback from Malaysian students of what they seen and experienced at foreign universities as one of the ways to improve working conditions and retain academics of local universities. As a Malaysian who has studied and been working in the UK, I would like to add to the discussion: the first is that a competitive salary package is a basic necessity for retaining top academics. It is not the most important factor and yet, if such basic needs were not fulfilled, one would find it difficult to focus on higher level needs or simply be contented with one’s expectations. Not to mention, good scholars and/or top academics are people with specialised and rare knowledge, and therefore they are likely to be highly marketable or always in great demand. This leads to my second point that it’s necessary to attract top academics to work in Malaysia both local and foreign academics. Many new or aspiring local academics would be able to learn from experienced teachers and researchers. Malaysian universities must therefore adopt an open door policy for high calibre academics and cultivate a research-oriented environment. This requires change in our higher education policy stance with significant emphasis on research, and investment in human capital and research facilities. The change would affect the way academics work, the structure of a university, and the allocation of government funds. To this effect, research and teaching activities should be monitored and evaluated independently by a panel of top academics. My third and final point is that the effectiveness and relevance of foreign university systems should not be overemphasized. In brief, no one institution is perfect and every environment (country) is different. Malaysia is unique, multicultural and in the vicinity of China and in the region of fastest economic growth. Altogether, they present many potential contributions to academia, and plenty of research avenues for growth and knowledge development, which are ideal for attracting and retaining top academics. In the face rapidly changing environments, we need to be proactive in spotting talents and recognise top researchers’ contribution – as we all know that no amount of learning, training and investment in infrastructure can substitute scholars with vision and leadership.