PUTRAJAYA: The proposal to revert Universiti Putra Malaysia's (UPM) name back to its original Universiti Pertanian Malaysia will be brought to the Cabinet for consideration, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu.
The Agriculture and Food Security Minister said that he would personally present the proposal at an upcoming Cabinet meeting, given the current national focus on food security and the advancement of the country's agricultural sector.
"I intend to do so (revert the name) because the original name of Universiti Putra was Universiti Pertanian. Returning to the name Universiti Pertanian seems appropriate.
"Perhaps when the name was changed, we did not consider issues like climate change. Now, agriculture has become a global issue. The UN (United Nations) and everyone else is discussing agriculture," he said.
Mohamad shared this with the media after delivering a keynote address and moderating a session on food security during the seventh parallel session of the Malaysia Ideas Convention (MyIDEAS), coordinated by UPM, on Thursday (Nov 28).
For the record, the university's name was changed from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia to Universiti Putra Malaysia on April 3, 1997, to reflect its status as a higher education institution offering a broader range of programmes beyond agriculture, particularly in science and information technology.
UPM currently has 14 faculties offering various programmes related to agriculture and food security, including smart farming and artificial intelligence (AI) applications in agriculture. - Bernama
