From: eoahmad@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg (Othman Ahmad)
Subject: Re: Electrical Engineering In UM
Organization: Nanyang Technological University - Singapore
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL4
Date: Sat, 26 Sep 1992 07:36:22 GMT

ins877s@lindblat.cc.monash.edu.au (Mr Tan Teong Hooi) writes:
: 
: I was reading a letter from a friend of mine, who is currently studying
: Electrical Engineering in University Of Malaya (UM). Quoted in his letter
: was :
: 	"This year we have 53 new students and about 24 of them are 
: Chinese. Out of the 24 Chinese, 16 got 5As (STPM), and the other 8
: got 4As and 1B. I guess it's the toughest ever requirement in the world
: for any course in any University."

I suspect this is the case but it is nice to have a confirmation and more
exact figures. I thought this figure is a secret, at least at NTU.
	How about UTM? I have colleagues at Telekom Malaysia who graduate from
UTM(Chinese), some even got scholarships and studied at USA after finishing
diplomas at UTM.

There are a lot of questions and inconsisistencies about the chinese students
in Malaysia. I hope someone can clarify them for me.

How come these students do not get scholarships for overseas studies, whereas
some who are not as qualified can?
	One reason is that they do not even apply or read newspaper 
advertisements for scholarship application. This actually happened in one
case quoted by a bumiputra colleague.
	How about Kwok Scholarship, Colombo Plan etc.? What other criteria
is required for eligibility? I thought 5A is the highest possible. Who wants
to have more? 
: 
: Well, as a matter of fact, you've to get at least 4As 1B to get into UM's
How about the qualification for others. I predict it is only in Cs because
the best had been sent for overseas study under loan/scholarship.
	I never bother to apply to UM because it is not good at engineering.
I may change my mind now. I'm more concerned about my children's future.
Has the world become more competitive? I thought it is already competitive
in my time.

: EE. One of my friends has to settle for Mechanical Engineering (I am not 
: implying that ME is not good, or whatever, indeed, it might even has a
: more promising career future in M'sia/Singapore), and he got 3As and 2Bs
: for his STPM. I really feel sorry for him.

Why does not he apply to NTU/NUS? He may get scholarships here?
Or maybe he is not qualified to enter NTU?
Maybe not enough money to pay for the even subsidised fees here?

: 
: I was wondering is EE really that popular, even in US and UK (I know the 
: answer here in Melbourne, YES!), and you need to obtain very very good
: result in order to pursue this course. What about medicine and law?
: Opinions and flames welcome.
: 
My class mate got a lot of As(probably 4As and 1B) in 1978, and I heard from
another classmate that he was accepted to UKM medicine course.

The entrance requirement for Malaysian universities is extremely high but
does it mean that the standard is high? It should be but it is not a well
known fact all over the world because the reputation of a university depends
on the quality of papers published by those universities.

	How many students got first class honours? If they adopt the USA
statistical method, all the malays surely be below average. If the apply UK
system, all chinese should get first class honours.

What happens to the graduates? I have met one becoming RA here doing MEng
part-time? My suspician is that the graduates are in great demand in Singapore
and indirectly fuel its economy. That guy is a quiet type so dare not 
say more about his reasons for studying here.

Malaysian government should do something about this brain-drain. I do not
support the removal of the NEP because the current situation affects 
everyone whether chinese or malays.

The NEP is another topic for debate.
I sincerely hope someone can comment. 

--
Othman bin Ahmad, School of EEE,
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 2263.
Internet Email: eoahmad@ntuix.ntu.ac.sg
Bitnet Email: eoahmad@ntuvax.bitnet