Civilisational cornerstone: Sultan Sharafuddin says that the UPM name should be maintained because the ‘Putra’ brand means ‘Agriculture for the People’.
PUTRAJAYA: The name of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) will remain, Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah decreed.
His Royal Highness said the UPM board of trustees and himself as chancellor were not consulted in advance regarding any proposed change of the university’s name.
“Therefore, I do not agree with the proposal,” said the state Ruler at the second part of session one of the 48th UPM convocation ceremony yesterday.
Sultan Sharafuddin stressed that the UPM name should be maintained because the “Putra” brand – which he launched earlier this year – means “Pertanian Untuk Rakyat” (Agriculture for the People).
The Sultan of Selangor also said the name is also in honour of the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-haj.
“I would like to remind those who do not understand history to read and examine historical facts before making any statements, especially involving UPM,” said Sultan Sharafuddin, Bernama reported.
On Thursday, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu said a proposal to change UPM’s name back to its original name, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, would be submitted to the Cabinet for discussion.
The university’s name was changed on April 3, 1997, to reflect its status as a higher education institution, offering a broader range of programmes beyond agriculture, particularly in science and information technology.
UPM currently has 14 faculties, offering various programmes related to agriculture and food security, including smart farming and artificial intelligence applications in agriculture.
Earlier, Sultan Sharafuddin also recommended that UPM collaborate with industry players to find ways to repopularise the agricultural sector in the country, especially among the younger generation.
His Royal Highness said negative societal views that label agriculture as a field with no future or as a low-class field need to be changed and the public needs to be convinced that agriculture has a bright future.
“This effort needs to be implemented because agriculture remains an important sector that needs to be maintained,” Sultan Sharafuddin said.
