“One of our significant struggles as ministers from Umno is to defend the Mara (Majlis Amanah Rakyat) institution, which is linked to UiTM.

“Of late, we’ve heard various things about UiTM, following which our president (Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) and the Prime Minister (Anwar Ibrahim) agreed that UiTM must be safeguarded.

“If there are problems, we are committed to resolving them,” he said at the Umno general assembly 2024.

Zambry, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general, said the government aimed to make a significant shift in the education system by focusing on technical and vocational education and training (TVET), led by Zahid, aimed at school leavers who were not pursuing tertiary education.

“We will ensure that those who follow TVET programmes will be given the chance to continue their studies at higher levels, including entering universities up to the doctorate level.

“Today’s education system is no longer campus-based; this is a major shift in our higher education system,” he said.

Furthermore, Zambry said, Malaysia was also internationalising its education system, with more than 140,000 international students studying at universities in the country.

“We are also exporting Malaysia’s higher education system abroad… which is why we have offshore campuses in various locations. For instance, the prime minister recently officiated the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) campus in Qatar,” he said.