The University of Malaya (Abbreviation: UM; Malay: Universiti Malaya) is located on a 992-acre campus near the centre of Kuala Lumpur, and is the oldest university in Malaysia. It was founded in 1905 as a public-funded tertiary institution. Today, UM is an acclaimed Research University, with 2,613 academic staff with a variety of expertise and 590 supporting staff. The THES - QS World University Rankings (From 2010 two separate rankings will be produced by the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and the QS World University Rankings) has ranked UM in the top 200 universities of the world, although its position has varied from 89 to 246. It was ranked 89, 169, 192, 246, 230, 180 and 207 for the years 2004 to 2010 respectively, and these fluctuations were perceived as a progressive drop and became an object of public questioning and controversy about the perceived declining standards of Malaysian universities and the apparent lackadaisical attitude of UM in addressing long standing issues.