From D.Arul Rajoo
WASHINGTON, May 20 (Bernama) -- The opening of the world-renowned teaching and research medical institution Johns Hopkins University in Serdang, Malaysia this September would send ripples throughout the region and would be a phenomenal lure, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
The prime minister said it was expected to attract students not only from other nations in the region but also from Middle East and the Indian sub-continent.
"I am confident the Johns Hopkins medical programme will be a phenomenal lure," he said at an event to mark the establishment of the Johns Hopkins Dr Mohan Swami Institute for International Medical Education at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, about an hour's drive from here.
Najib arrived here today after a three-day working visit to New York where he charmed and impressed his American audience at the Invest Malaysia New York and meetings with captains of industries with his visions, and outlined multiple programmes under his leadership to turn the nation into a high income economy.
Also present at the event today were Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin, Malaysian Ambassador to the United States Datuk Jamaluddin Jarjis, Tan Sri Mohan Swami and top leadership of the university, including Edward D. Miller, the Chief Executive Officer of Johns Hopkins University.
The Johns Hopkins medical programme would come under collaboration with Perdana University, which offers the first private teaching hospital with world-class medical facilities to be established in Serdang under the Mohan's Chase Perdana group.
Najib said he was pleased to note that to staff all these facilities, there had been very good response not only from the local faculty in Baltimore but from others around the world, to teach, work and practice in the Malaysian campus.
According to the premier, his administration had embarked on a plan to actively seek out and encourage Malaysians abroad to return home and at the same time stepping up efforts for skills training at home.
"That is the one reason why I am personally so excited about this partnership and why I couldn't be more pleased with your decision to establish not only a graduate medical school, but also the first private teaching hospital and, more so, a centre for cutting edge clinical research," he added.
Najib said Johns Hopkins was known for its pioneering work in many areas of medicine, among them the use of rubber gloves during surgery which had now become a universal practice.
"It has had a positive impact on the rubber industry in Malaysia, which is now the world's largest producer and exporter of medical rubber gloves," he added.
Najib said the establishment of the university would encourage more top graduates of Malaysia's universities to stay home, as they now had the chance to participate in the world's best medical school curriculum and advanced clinical research without leaving their country.
Dr Mohan said the first intake of students would be in September, with 100 students reporting at its temporary campus near the Mardi headquarters while a permanent campus was expected to be ready by 2013.
"We hope to take 75 students from Malaysia. About 50 JPA (Public Service Department) scholarship holders are expected to study in our university," said Dr Mohan who was the first Chancellor of HIHT University in India in 2008.
Dr Mohan, who is also the Executive Chairman of the Bursa Malaysia-listed Turiya Berhad, said the total development programme, including building a 600-bed teaching hospital, would be around RM2.4 billion.
The Perdana university, which will offer post-graduate studies beginning next year, is to be built on a 52-hectare site in Serdang and is a totally private-funded initiative by Turiya Berhad and Chase Perdana working closely with the Public Private Partnership Unit (3PU).
The project was specifically mentioned in the 2011 budget presented by Najib on Oct 15 last year.
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