UNIVERSITY TOWNS - by Tun Mahathir

By Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed (Chancellor of UTP)

1. I had often wondered why university towns like Cambridge and Oxford do not develop in Malaysia after we build universities in places far from the towns.

2. After much study and thinking things over I have concluded that it is because universities, particularly Government universities, build all the shops within the campus and probably operate them as well. The residences for the students and staff are all built by the University.

3. Developers find no opportunity for developing the surrounding land through building shops and residences for staff and students. There will only be university campuses and no university towns.

4. Universities can be catalysts for new growth areas. That was how Cambridge and Oxford towns were founded. With clever planning these university towns can be very attractive and can attract visitors, especially relatives of the students coming to visit them.

5. Maybe those in charge of university funding and development should think about this.

Source : http://chedet.co.cc/chedetblog/2011/03/university-towns.html