DOCKING IN WELL!

The setting up of this university augurs well for the Malaysian maritime industry.

There she stood, a pristine white ship with a dark blue funnel, in the sparkling sunlight by Pier 42, Westport, Port Klang. It was the HANBADA, a training ship of the Korea Maritime University. The ship had docked a day earlier for an important occasion that was set to take place on board this day, the 25^th of May 2009.

At precisely 11 am after the necessary introductions of the VIPs, a Memorandum of Agreement was signed by both Dr.Oh Keo Don, President of the National Korea Maritime University (KMU) and Pyo Hyun Young, Managing Director of Maritime Training Education Sdn. Bhd. (MTE). In attendance were Dato Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin, Minister of Higher Education, Malaysia, H. E. Yang Bong Ryull, South Korea¡¯s Ambassador to Malaysia  and Tan Sri Dato¡¯ Seri Dr.Jeffrey Cheah, Chairman of the Sunway Group.

With this, the first steps have been taken to establish a branch campus of KMU here in Malaysia. Currently, a final location for the campus has yet to be decided. To get the ball rolling, the agreement has brought into existence the KMU International Cooperation Centre (Malaysia). Its first main task will be to publicise the existence of this maritime training university. The centre will not only ensure student enrollment but also assist some of them with scholarships. Its other responsibilities will be to look into internship and on-board training. As the language of instruction is in English, those needing help in this language will be given the necessary aid. The centre will also initiate the exchange of students and staffs with local universities. This is one of its moves to promote international cooperation and understanding  in academia.

The Malaysian government is exceptionally pleased that the maritime campus will be set up here. ¡°This is in keeping with turning the country in to a worldwide hub of higher education,¡± Dato Seri Mohd. Khaled Nordin, Minister of   Higher Education announced. He felt the move would also give Malaysian students an opportunity to venture into the whole gamut of the maritime industry. From the actual work of a seaman to taking up a career in shipbuilding, engineering, ocean systems, transportation sciences, naval architecture, electrical and electronics engineering, maritime police operations  or in the white collar aspects of finance, insurance, maritime law, international commerce, maritime administration and many more.

Such a vast curriculum would require an academic staff able to impart and educate the incoming students at an extremely high level.  Pyo Hyun Young, MD of MTE informed,¡± All our lecturers, professors and main academic staff will come from Korea. They have years of experience and will have no difficulty in taking the classes.¡± He also assured that from Day 1, MTE will be recruiting students from all over the world and thus making the campus truly international.

 ¡°On the question of whether there will be duplication between our own maritime school, ALAM in Malacca and  the KMU campus, the answer is no. Ours is mainly concentrated on bringing out seamen for the navy and shipping industry. Whereas in the KMU campus, the whole maritime industry is thrown open to students. The good thing is, those graduating from ALAM have the opportunity to continue at KMU. I believe this form of continuation will also be offered to other universities here,¡± Dato Seri Mohd. Khaled Nordin informed.

The Minister continued, ¡°I understand many other countries in the ASEAN region approached KMU to set up their campus there. But in the end Malaysia was chosen mainly due to its infrastructure, well developed transportation system, conducive higher education policies and strong use and level of English.¡±

He was of the opinion that the campus will begin on a moderate level and rapidly build itself up. ¡°They have indicated a one year period to get the campus off the ground. But if they can get their fundamentals together much earlier, and that these are of a high standard with the right level of professionalism, my ministry sees no reason not to give the green light then and there.¡±

The National Korea Maritime University has an impeccable track record since its opening in 1945. It has contributed greatly to turning  South Korea into a strong maritime nation. If today that country is No.11 in deep-sea fishing and No.1 in shipbuilding and therefore putting it as No.7 among the top ten maritime nations, a major portion of the  credit can be attributed to the National Korea Maritime University. Malaysia which is vastly surrounded by sea, does not yet have a substantial maritime industry. It now has an opportunity to correct the imbalance with the establishment of the KMU branch campus on its soil.

Currently, the university  has four faculties being run as the Colleges of Maritime Sciences, Ocean Science and Technology, Engineering and International Studies.  It offers students various Master and Doctoral Courses  with the promise of rapid employment in the maritime industry.

Dr.Oh Keo Don is the current President of the National Korea Maritime University. He started as a civil servant in 1974 at the Office of Planning and Management in Busan. It soon became a checkered career that took him in and out of politics and one post that he held could have been a forerunner to where he is today. That post was that of the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries in 2005.

In charge of the Malaysian operations is Pyo Hyun Young, MD of Maritime Training Education Sdn Bhd.  A former navy man, he also was a navigation officer with Han Jin Shipping and holds a B.A. in Shipping Science from his alma mater, the National Korea Maritime University itself. So as an old boy of the university, there is no doubt  Pyo will  put into practice all that he has learnt from KMU and more.

While no final decision has yet been made on where to locate the campus, Pyo indicated it would most probably be located in Port Klang itself. ¡°We need a place to dock our training ship and a location next or near to a port would be ideal,¡± he revealed. So sorry Dato¡¯ Seri Mohamed Khaled! In his earlier speech he had declared,¡±¡¦.a good place to locate the campus¡¦and I am inviting you to come and do it, would be at Pasir Gudang.¡± That raised a gale of laughter, for the Minister¡¯s constituency is Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Port Klang, Pasir Gudang or somewhere else, the end result of all this is, Malaysia is set to enter a new era in higher education and the development of its maritime industry with the setting up of the KMU branch campus in Malaysia.

 Looks like all engines are go!