KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim commended UCSI University for emerging as a premier institution in Malaysia as he officiated the launch of its campus expansion, which features the construction of two new 38-storey blocks.
Citing UCSI as a university with a good track record of achievement, the Prime Minister stressed the need to ensure quality at public and private universities across the nation.
“I place great hope in this university because it has emerged as one of the premier institutions in this country,” he said at the “Temu Anwar” youth dialogue programme held at the university.
Earlier in his speech, Anwar also said that tertiary institutions should not be soulless certificate factories but ensure that students are educated human beings with values.
“While tertiary institutions strive to be industry drivers in digital areas and artificial intelligence, this should not dilute our interest in educating human beings with values and morality,” he said.
“As we reach for the skies, we should not leave the tracks of
culture, ethics and values as this is what makes us unique.”
Taking questions from eager students on economic development and activism, Anwar shared his core motivation:
“My conviction is that Malaysia can be a great nation, but if this country is left to corrupt and arrogant leaders, it will be destroyed.”
The Prime Minister later launched the construction of UCSI’s new high-rise buildings,
in conjunction with UCSI’s 40th anniversary celebration. The new blocks will increase the Kuala Lumpur campus’ operational space by around 1mil sq ft and accommodate over 3,000 additional students.
Housing the University’s Chancellery and administrative offices, the new blocks will also feature a state-of-the-art
performing arts complex for UCSI’s Institute of Music – ranked 24th worldwide in the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2026 for both music and the performing arts.
The complex includes a 2,500-seat grand hall, a 600-seat recital hall, a 400-seat black box theatre, and over 400 rehearsal and practice rooms.
Anwar was accompanied by Bandar Tun Razak member of parliament Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Deputy Higher Education Minister Adam Adli Abd Halim and UCSI chancellor Tunku Zain Al-‘Abidin Tuanku Muhriz.
UCSI founder and university council chairman Datuk Peter Ng noted that having Anwar on campus was extra special as he was the first sitting Prime Minister to visit UCSI.
“Our students have been
looking forward to meeting the Prime Minister for days and I’m glad to see them interacting so much with him,” he said.
“Anwar’s presence today adds a lot of buzz to our 40th anniversary celebration and it signifies how much UCSI has evolved. Not many know this but UCSI first started as a two-computer training institute on the second floor of a shoplot in SS2.
“Today, UCSI is ranked in Asia’s top 30 and eighth in South-East Asia in the QS World University Rankings: Asia 2026. The university has also remained in the top 1% of universities worldwide for four straight years.”
He added that the campus expansion would usher in the next phase of the university’s growth, and more exciting
developments would be announced during the year.
UCSI president and vice-chancellor Prof Emeritus Datuk Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir said that the University’s 40th anniversary milestone showed how Malaysia’s private higher education sector had matured.
“Today, private providers like UCSI contribute to the national agenda by advancing R&D, empowering changemakers and working hand-in-hand with the industry,” she said.
“In the past month alone, UCSI has formalised a matching grant agreement with Universiti Malaya to provide staff and students with high-impact research opportunities. We also teamed up with ViTrox Corp Bhd to empower engineers in Penang.”
Established in 1986, UCSI has empowered four Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia inductees and three Prestige 40 Under 40 laureates.
Other notable alumni include Malaysian pop megastar Aina Abdul and prominent Awani news anchor Cynthia Ng.
