The National University of Malaysia (abbreviation: UKM; Malay: Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia; abbreviated UKM) is a public university located in Bandar Baru Bangi, Selangor which is at south of Kuala Lumpur. Its teaching hospital, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) is located in Cheras and also has a branch campus in Kuala Lumpur. It is one of the most prestigious university in Malaysia and Southeast Asia.
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, the national university of Malaysia was born from the aspirations of the nationalists to uphold the Malay Language as a language of knowledge. The quest for a national university was suggested in 1923 by the writer Abdul Kadir Adabi as a move against British colonisation. This nationalist tide galvanised Malay intellectuals of the time but met British suppression. The nationalists never wavered and in 1969 the movement again blossomed. A Sponsoring Committee chaired by Syed Nasir Ismail, a Malay intellectual, was set up to prepare a report recommending the establishment of UKM. Other prominent members of this committee include Dr. Mahathir Mohamed (Tun), Malaysia's fourth Prime Minister who was then the Education Minister, and Dr. Mohd Rashdan Haji Baba, who later became UKM's first Vice-Chancellor.
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