UNIMAS (Universiti Malaysia Sarawak) held its graduation ceremony on 4-5 August 2007 at UNIMAS Hall, UNIMAS, Kota Samarahan. The campus is located some 40 minutes drive from the Kuching town. I had a chance to attend the event even though I missed the scroll-giving event which lasted about 12pm (yes, I overslept.. so what it’s Sunday…).
But it was an auspicious moment for my cousin, Dr. Asrul and his wife, Dr Aini who were attending the convocation ceremony after successfully graduating in the medicine course. They met each other while studying in UNIMAS, and tied the knot 3 months ago after finishing their studies.
I also went to see around the new UNIMAS campus, which is adjacent to the current campus. It was way bigger than the old campus. It was also beautiful, to which you may ask, “does that reflect the beauty and the quality of the graduates produced?” Well, that’s a story for another day I guess. In the mean time you can also read the ramblings on Malaysia education here.
But the saddest thing is, the new campus is yet to be fully operational even though it was officiated by the Prime Minister on April 2006, which is over a year ago. I was told that it was a grand ceremony with some 10,000 people attending.
I even went up to the Vice Chancellor’s office and take few snaps from the 7th floor of the new administration building. The only people I could see is the guard who was manning the building. You could also sense the eerie feeling and the ghostly presence of [whatever] inside the building as your hope to find normal people evaporated. Somehow it looked like it was a deserted place after the Transformers came to take over the world.
I don’t know if it was just me but it was so hot out there outside the building I just wish the UNIMAS management will consider planting more trees. It reminded me of our crazy time climbing the hills in the Bako National Park in a crazy jungle trekking trip. Unlike in the old campus where you can just walk from the hostel to the faculty, here you can either take the routine campus bus, or it is even better if you have your own vehicle.
Samarahan is considered the ‘corridor of education’ in Sarawak as there are also the UiTM and The Teacher’s Training College nearby. The road that connects Kuching to Samarahan is also being upgraded to give better access for the public. I just hope that this new campus will fully operate soon and mark a new milestone and hope for the UNIMAS, the Sarawak people and the Malaysia education in general.
Other posts you may want to read:
- UNIMAS To Offer New Courses For Foreigners
- The Star Education Fair (Penang)
- Karnival Pekerjaan 2008 – Kuching Chapter
- UNITEN Career Fair 2008
- British Council and the UK Education
- Kuala Lumpur Job Carnival, UTM Semarak, 1-2 Sept 2007
- Serious Shortage of Doctors in Sarawak
- Why Employers Don’t Hire Crazy Employees
Author's bio: Zul is the founder and principal contributor for the SKOR Career blog. He is the author of two books, The Malaysian Job Seeker's Dilemma and Buat Duit Tanpa Kerja Makan Gaji (How to Make Money Without a Job), available in major book stores nationwide. You can reach him at zulkiflimusa[at]gmail.com.
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9 comments ↓
The new campus should have started quite some time, and the convo was supposed to be in the new campus.
We waited for so long but did not get our chance.
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Heard that too. Also heard that some groups of students protested the building of the new campus because they were worried about the future direction.
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Don’t worry, the future is bright for UNIMAS. I don’t mind graduating in UNIMAS old hall, as long as i know the degree that i obtained is well-worth the 4 years i’ve spent there.
Just a little bit of history though, UNIMAS permanent campus construction was a bit slow due to the sudden pump of funds going to UMS, after the ruling-party (BN) won a landslide victory in Sabah state election. Due to the promise made during the election, the government had no choice but to divert the funds for UMS…resulting UNIMAS to look elsewhere for more funds. Which is why UMS campus can be completed much earlier.
As you might have known, UNIMAS permanent campus is partially funded by the Japanese Government. To build a campus of this big, needs of course a lot of funding. Besides, it’s not fair to judge a 3-year-old new campus by comparing it with well-established uni, right?
As for the quality of UNIMAS graduates, you’ll be surprised that for some programmes (like Biotech, Medicine, IT and Engineering), UNIMAS graduates are well accepted in the job market, even in countries like Singapore and Australia. This is largely due to UNIMAS policy of making English as the medium of instructions in its courses.
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Hi,
Is Unimas really that far? 40 mins from Kuching town? Then I must be driving really fast because it only took me 20 minutes from Padungan to reach Unimas.
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It was just a guesstimate. Took me 20 mins of driving from the 8th Mile (Penrissen) to reach UNIMAS. And since my place is also about 20 mins from Kuching (opposite way), that’s where the figure comes about. I also did not take account other routes, if faster (e.g. the Tabuan route).
By the way, we’re talking about UNIMAS Kota Samarahan, and not the UNIMAS Kuching medical branch rite?
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Zul,
I’ve this feeling that Unimas will not going to be a world class University if it continues to be “affiliated, associated” or whatever term you want to call it. This is my opinion of Unimas based on the impression given by some friends who has been working with the university ever since it was started.
Just look at the logo of the university to know what I meant. Do you think that co. will be a world class co. by itself?
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Name me one PUBLIC UNIVERSITY in MALAYSIA that is not “affiliated, associated”….
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This may not be conclusive but this is my finding:
After interviewing a number of UNIMAS students, I found they are potentially more marketable in the employment world than graduates from any other public universities that don’t use English medium. The communication level is much better, and if they keep on improving themselves, they will go far in the job market.
I am sad to see that many first class graduates who have the intelligence but their ‘bad ingrish’ let them down. Unless they want to create the next Genting, they should immediately look into improving their communication.
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Well done guys!!
At least comments like these indicate some kinds of feedback from our graduates. We will strive to improve UNIMAS, academic or otherwise. The landscape, for example, is being taken care of and the new buildings are getting more lifely…no longer the ghostly appearance it once potrayed.
All the best for everyone in the job market and please come back to UNIMAS for a visit.
Ahmad.
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