KUALA LUMPUR, June 2, 2026 (The Capital Post) – According to information shared on the official Facebook page of Kementerian Pendidikan Tinggi (KPT), the Ministry of Higher Education has called for research findings and intellectual resources from Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to be translated creatively to enhance national literacy and support holistic human capital development.
The ministry commended the commitment of the Malaysian Scholarly Publishing Council (MAPIM) for successfully transforming university publications by incorporating more popular and accessible elements, helping to break the long-standing perception that academic works are rigid and difficult for the general public to understand.
KPT emphasised that access to high-quality knowledge is a right for every citizen, and MAPIM’s efforts to popularise scholarly writing represent an important step towards democratising knowledge and building a more informed society.
Through this new approach, universities are no longer viewed as isolated ivory towers but as active contributors to communities by providing reliable and accessible reference materials for people from all walks of life.
MAPIM Chairperson, Associate Professor Dr. Siti Rahmah Awang, said university publishers are becoming increasingly responsive to changing reader preferences, particularly the growing demand for visually engaging and concise reading materials.
She explained that transforming traditional academic texts into popular science publications, graphic-based content and educational comics is a contemporary strategy designed to revive reading habits among Malaysians.
According to her, universities have a social responsibility to ensure that government-funded research ultimately benefits the public through knowledge dissemination that is easy to understand and accessible to a wider audience.
-Advertisement-
MAPIM has also encouraged university authors to reduce reliance on highly technical jargon and adopt more inclusive language and engaging visual elements to make academic content more appealing to general readers.
The organisation further expressed appreciation to KPT’s leadership for its continued support in raising MAPIM’s profile at the national level, enabling the expansion of strategic collaborations with local and international publishing industry stakeholders.
MAPIM’s initiatives have also encouraged greater collaboration between public and private university publishers in producing works covering critical fields such as TVET education, Digital Science, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and cultural heritage.
To showcase these efforts, MAPIM is hosting its first-ever mega exhibition pavilion at the Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair (PBAKL) 2026. The pavilion features a collection of hybrid publications from universities nationwide, organised by subject clusters to help visitors explore reading materials based on their interests.
The exhibition is being held at Dewan Tun Dr. Ismail, World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTCKL), until June 7, 2026. Members of the public are encouraged to visit with their families to enjoy special promotions, participate in interactive activities and obtain exclusive scholarly publications available only at the MAPIM Pavilion. – The Capital Post
