The fact that some people think that the only thing these unis have above Malaysian unis is academic achievements is telling about the flaws of the education system here.

Top schools already get the best students, so academic excellence is generally already a given with the general student body. What makes these unis distinguish themselves from the rest is that they are successful in cultivating independence, critical thinking as well as work ethic within their culture. It's in the blood of their graduates, and employers obviously have observed that.

Credibility of a school's degree also matters a lot. I'm always dumbfounded whenever I hear about undeserving students passing, and their fellow coursemates responding "Aiya whatever la, doesn't affect me also, everybody happy wat". Well guess what? It does affect you, because recruiters aren't stupid. The more your school does this, the more meaningless your degree becomes.