ATMA Upgrade to UPNM (NATIONAL DEFENCE University of Malaysia) Starts Mid 2007; 11 DEGREE & DiPLOMA in Engineering, Military & Defense Science

Another University upgraded from a Miltary Academy. As the name implied it would be a training place for the Armed forces personnel in Malaysia with 20% places reserved for civilians (who must joined the Reserve Officers Training unit). It will no doubt has the best facilities as defence is "at all cost". But the quality would depend on the the intake. Most opting for a military life cannot be that acdemically inclined as they are also trained to pull the trigger to kill.

Meanwhile the Deputy Primer expressed the sad fact that the average Malaysias read 2 books a year and many none at all. All they read are light materials from newspaper and magazines. And the visual aspects they see in TV and possibly from the Internet.

Perhaps buying books is expensive and reading heavy stuff is "boring" and challenging to many. The internet should provide access to many for reading materials that are mainly for references. Google attempts to bring the world's libraries to the internet were unsuccessful as the publishers would be put out of business.

But this will happen in the future as the online news did not kill off the newspaper

"The ratio between military cadets and civilian candidates will be 80:20. Military cadets who graduate will be absorbed into the Malaysian Armed Forces while civilian graduands are not bound by such requirement,"

UPNM Begins Operations Mid-Year 2007; September 13, 2006 22:11 PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- The National Defence University of Malaysia (UPNM) which will replace the Malaysian Military Academy (ATMA) will begin operations in the middle of next year for the 2007/2008 session, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak announced Wednesday.

With the establishment of the UPNM, he said, the Defence Ministry had achieved its aspiration to create a university of international level with the thrust on military matters.

"The objective of setting up the UPNM is to provide a balanced education in the fields of humanities, management, and military science and technology.

"In addition, it aims to inculcate intellectual development through teaching, learning and research in a military environment to churn out military officers or graduates with strong military personality and ethics," said Najib, who is also Defence Minister, at a press conference at the ministry, here.
The Top Brass of the new University with emphasis on Military aspects

The setting up of the UPNM, he said, was an advancement and recognition for the ATMA which had been operational for the past 11 years and had succeeded in turning out 1,031 graduates at the bachelors degree level in various disciplines.

The new university, which would be operating under the Defence Ministry but subjected to the Universities and University Colleges Act (UUCA), would take in 500 students initially for degree level courses.

"The intake will be increased each year in line with the improvement in infrastructure. It is expected that by the year 2010, a total of 5,000 students will have the opportunity to study at the UPNM. The university will also offer places to foreign students especially from the Asean countries and West Asia," he said.

Najib said entry to the UPNM was not only restricted to military cadets and military officers but also open to civilians possessing the stipulated qualification.

"The ratio between military cadets and civilian candidates will be 80:20. Military cadets who graduate will be absorbed into the Malaysian Armed Forces while civilian graduands are not bound by such requirement," he said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also said that for the moment, the UPNM would utilise the existing ATMA campus at the Sungai Besi Camp, Kuala Lumpur where several additional blocks would be built to cater for the increase in student intake and new programmes.

He said the programme components at the UPNM would consist of three key elements namely foundation studies, the military component and generic skills.

"Civilian students will be required to undergo military training too just like the military cadets to fulfil the UPNM mission. Civilian students are also required to become members of the Reserve Officers Training Unit (ROTU).

"In addition, each student is required to take up modern and international languages (such as Arabic, Italian and French) besides English so that graduands will have added value that would give them an edge over the others at the international level," Najib said.

As a start, three faculties will be set up at the UPNM namely the Engineering Faculty, Military Science and Technology Faculty, and the Management and Defence Science Faculty.

The three faculties will offer 10 programmes at the bachelors degree level. The programmes are civil engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, nautical science, aeronautic science, information technology and military security, maritime science and technology, military management and leadership, defence resource management, and defence studies.

Besides the degree programme, five diploma programmes will also be offered by the UPNM namely defence studies, maritime technology and science, nautical science, international and strategic studies, and aeronautic science.

"Subsequent planning is to introduce post-graduate programmes and military oriented executive and professional courses," Najib said.

He also said that the UPNM would collaborate with local and foreign universities in the relevant disciplines to achieve international university status and strengthen its curriculum and research activities.
"The entire findings point to the sad fact that Malaysians do not read enough, and even if they do read, they stick to light material like newspapers and magazines,"

Make Reading Part Of Lifestyle, Says Najib ; September 13, 2006 22:11 PM

PETALING JAYA, Sept 13 (Bernama) -- Malaysians should embrace reading as part of their lifestyle to become a truly knowledge-based society, Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak said Wednesday night.

The deputy prime minister said that once reading became part of one's life and formed a natural habit, the acquisition of knowledge would become easy -- something that is continuously accomplished without much conscious effort.
MPH Dinner guests include, the book publishers, dealers and the writers. No readers or book buyers?


"This is the mindset that we want to instill in more Malaysians, the desire for continuous learning and quest for ever more knowledge. Unfortunately, the concept of reading as a lifestyle does not seem to be deeply rooted in Malaysia," he said at the Centennial Celebration Dinner of the MPH Group here.

In fact, he said, reading seemed to have taken a back seat compared with television, films, the Internet and other forms of entertainment and he was disappointed to read the findings of a survey conducted last year which revealed that on average, Malaysians read only two books a year,

"The entire findings point to the sad fact that Malaysians do not read enough, and even if they do read, they stick to light material like newspapers and magazines," he said, lamenting the fact that books have been ranked third in terms of preferred reading material among Malaysians.

Najib said the findings revealed that there was still much room for improvement in terms of shaping the minds and attitudes of Malaysians.

"We still have a long way to go before we can truly lay claim to having a knowledgeable society," he said.

Najib said the statistics also indicated that reading was a habit that was more exposed in an effluent society concentrated in urban areas while the rest of the country still regarded reading as a chore.

Realising this pattern, the government has undertaken an ambitious programme to encourage Malaysians to embrace reading as a habit and personal culture.

This included embarking on a reading campaign spanning five years with allocations up to RM50 million while undertaking various other measures and introducing numerous incentives towards encouraging Malaysians to read.

He also called on various corporations to foster the reading habit by supplying books to the public as well as making accessible the latest and most celebrated books and literary works for Malaysians to enjoy.