9 local universities in the country are now battling to claim the APEX (Accelerated Program for Excellence) status. 7 of them are public universities, and the remaining 2 are private.

Only one will be granted the APEX status.

The nine are Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), International Islamic Universiti (UIAM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Universiti Sains Islam (USIM), Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) and Universiti Tenaga Nasional (Uniten).

UTP and Uniten represent private universities.

The APEX university status will be granted to the most promising institution, and the one with the most potential to break into the world’s 50 best university ranking. With the status, the university will be given access to resources that can improve facilities and attract the best students.

At the moment, Universiti Malaya (UM) is considered the country’s best university. However, it’s world ranking of 246 is far cry from what had been hoped for. In stark contrast, the the neighbour’s National University of Singapore (NUS) is ranked as one of the top 20 universities in the world.