PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim revealed that the Multimedia University (MMU) should have been established in Kuala Pilah, Negri Sembilan according to the original proposal since the state has not yet built a higher education institute.
Anwar said that as the then deputy prime minister and minister of finance, he had agreed with the proposal, which was later cancelled due to a “governance issue”.
He recounted that MMU founder Prof Emer Tan Sri Dr Mohd Rashdan Baba was also from Negri Sembilan.
“When I proposed (the construction of MMU), (he said) ‘Okay, (Anwar). I (Mohd Rashdan) would like for it to be built in Kuala Pilah, I would look for land in Negri Sembilan’.
“Many people were frustrated and tired of hearing about governance problems, but it was indeed this governance issue and the attitude of the political leadership that prevented the implementation of the project in Negri Sembilan at that time,” he said during the launch of the Public-private Cooperation Master Plan (PIKAS) 2030 at MMU, Cyberjaya, Selangor today.
“Mohd Rashdan, the founder of MMU, has a firm principle against tolerating any form of deviation or using the project to enrich one or two individuals.
“I still remember being called to negotiate, even though an agreement was already in place. Despite this, there were still efforts to demand bribes.
“Mohd Rashdan told me he did not want to proceed under such conditions and preferred to choose an alternative location. That was why MMU’s location was changed,” he added.
Anwar said the story showed how PIKAS would work through the principles of fixed, firm and uncompromising governance.
The establishment of MMU is a prime example of successful public-private cooperation. It stemmed from the successful privatisation of Telekom Malaysia in 1990, which rapidly grew as a private entity and led to the creation of MMU.
MMU was established in 1997 as Universiti Telekom and then changed its name to Universiti Multimedia in 1999. The university has since successfully produced technocrats in various fields. — TMR
