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DAP calls for establishment of a full-fledged public university in Perak to bring affordable and quality university education to Perak youths without having to leave the home state to further their higher studies Media Conference Statement - after visiting the Perak Education Expo 2004 at Stadium Indera Mulia, Ipoh by Lim Kit Siang (Ipoh, Sunday): DAP calls for the establishment of a full-fledged public university in Perak to bring affordable and quality university education to Perak youths without having to leave the home state to further their higher studies. This urgent need for Perak to have a full-fledged public university in Perak, like the Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Sains Malaysia was further driven home to me after my visit to the Ekspo Pendidikan Perak 2004 with the DAP MP for Ipoh Barat, M. Kulasegaran, the DAP State Assembly candidate for Canning, Teh Hock Kee and the DAP State Assembly candidate for Buntong, Siva.
Perak has been badly left out in the expansion of public universities in the past three decades as while there are specialized universities like the Teaching University and the Petronas University, there is no full-fledged public university which caters for all academic disciplines and degrees normally offered by an university for the youths of Perak.
When opening the Education Expo, the Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Tajol Rosli spoke about turning Perak into a centre for academic excellence and said that emphasis should also be placed on education in nation-building instead of just in economy and infrastructure.
Although Perak should not have lagged behind other states in ensuring that it has its own full-fledged public university so that Perak youths could enjoy cheap, affordable and quality university education in the state, it is better late than never.
DAP is prepared to co-operate fully with the Perak Menteri Besar and the State Government to make a joint representation to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and the Federal government to urgently approve the setting up of a full-fledged public university in Perak.
In making Perak the second front-line state, the DAP in Ipoh, Kinta Valley and Perak will elevate the subject of education to top priority status in our focus on the great issues of justice, freedom, democracy and good governance for the sake of our children and children’s children in a highly competitive world. * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman & Member of Parliament for Ipoh Timor |