Malaysian Qualifications Agency says abolition of AUKU cannot be taken lightly, urges clear guidelines

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) chief executive officer Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran has emphasized that the abolition of the Universities and University Colleges Act 1971 (AUKU) should not be taken lightly. In a statement today, Sabran urged the creation of an equivalent legal framework to maintain the continuity of governance and quality of the country’s higher education at the global level.

Any changes to the higher education legal framework, he said, must be comprehensive and carefully implemented to avoid gaps in regulations, governance, and institutional monitoring.

Sabran stressed that the higher education system requires clear guidelines and procedures to ensure orderly and accountable management and administration. Any decision on AUKU abolition must be preceded by a comprehensive assessment of the implications of such changes to the higher education ecosystem, as recommended by the Ministry of Higher Education (KPT).

This approach is crucial to ensure that efforts to strengthen the higher education system do not undermine the government’s agenda to position Malaysia as a global education hub.

Mohammad Shatar noted that the AUKU is one of the important instruments providing guidelines and a governance framework for higher education institutions (IPT). He highlighted that the quality of national education is highly regarded worldwide and the efforts since Merdeka need to be further strengthened. He called on the public to trust the KPT in its discussions related to the act, aligning with the Malaysian Higher Education Plan (RPTM) 2026-2035 launched in January.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim recently announced the government's decision to abolish AUKU during the PKR Presidential Policy Address, following a memorandum and the views of student leadership advocating for comprehensive changes to AUKU.