AIMST University, which was officially declared open by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last week, is a symbol of accomplishment by the Indian community, now at the crossroads of uncertainty and divided loyalties since the March 8 general election.

Almost every Indian and other Malaysians have contributed in small or large measure to make the RM500 million university a success. It is one big achievement that Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and MIC can be proud of. The Federal Government and the Kedah government should be congratulated for their share of the contributions in making the educational endeavour a success.

AIMST has to prove itself by becoming one of the nation’s top tertiary institutions. No effort should be spared in this regard and everyone involved should make it a success story despite whatever grievances and shortcomings the Indian community faces now.

That there are only about 2,300 students in this sprawling campus shows that its vast potential and resources are largely untapped. Confining the university courses to medicine, science and technology will mean that it will be under-utilised. Indian students generally have a strong inclination for both the sciences and arts. The university should therefore introduce arts courses such as law, business administration, economics and mass communications, which are very popular with Indian students.

Currently, no Indian-based college teaches these subjects. It would be a waste to set up colleges to cater for these courses when AIMST could be utilised for this purpose. Hundreds of students are studying mass communication in private colleges all over the country, and most of them will opt for AIMST if it introduces subjects such as this. Many arts students do not get their preferred choice in the public universities and opt for private colleges, often at great expense.

Additionally, AIMST can offer BA and MA programmes for Tamil, Tamil Literature, Hinduism, etc in collaboration with Indian universities. It must be noted that Tamil is only taught until Form VI and as such the standard of Tamil needs to be improved.

AIMST university can easily cater to between 5,000 and 10,000 students. With PTPTN loans as well as scholarships available, a large number of students will opt for AIMST if it has their choice of courses. AIMST needs to remain multi-racial to continue getting support from the government. It should be imbued with a national vision, and with good administration, financial planning, research facilities, varied courses, capable academics, and student discipline, it should be on the way to becoming a first-rate university.

V. THOMAS, Sungai Buloh

Source: NST – August 27, 2008