About UM : University of Malaya, or UM is the oldest university in Malaysia ,UM was established on 8th October 1949 on Singapore with the merger of the King Edward VII College of Medicine (founded in 1905) and Raffles College (founded in 1928). The University of Malaya derives its name from the term ‘Malaya’ as the country was then known. The Carr-Saunders Commission on University Education in Malaya, which recommended the setting up of the university, noted in its Report in 1948.