The plan by the University Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) administration to build a golf course disgusts me because it is not only a waste of taxpayers' money but it also won't be fully utilised by students. It is an absolute shame that the administration is choosing to spend money on something that not only is ludicrously priced but will also end up costing an arm and a leg in the

future in maintenance fees.

I want to pose a few questions to the Unimas administrators

1) Why does Unimas need a golf course? Wouldn't the money be better spent in building sport facilities such as badminton courts and football fields? These are the sports a majority of Malaysian students play and would go a long way in helping to build sportsmen our country so badly

needs. Golf on the contrary, is too expensive to take up and is played by very few. Even if it was for the students, wouldn't it be cheaper to just pay the yearly fee in a golf club?

2) According to the malaysiakini article , RM18 million is being spent on this project. My friends in the golfing industry tell me that the yearly maintenance fee for a golf course could cost in excess of RM500,000. Even that is a very conservative figure. Wouldn't this money be better used for research activities so that the university can contribute to the Malaysian society? Why isn't the money being used to build better facilities, like buying new books for the library or upgrading hostels? Ask any student in Unimas and they will tell you that university facilities definitely need to be improved. Or is the university more interested in giving research the back seat an embracing the golfing industry?

Just when Malaysia, and Sarawak in particular, needs the maximum possible number of quality graduates to fuel our economy, I see a public university shirking on its duties and building a golf course. Unimas, please get your priorities right!

Can the Malaysian public please have the answers to these questions?