In competition with ISI: the perceptions of chief editors of Malaysian local journals

ABSTRACT Universities have had to develop new strategies to raise their profile in the international marketplace. In Malaysia, as in many other nations, publication in ISI‐ranked journals is a crucial factor. This focus is causing a strain on national journals that suffer from a lack of content, institutional support, and national recognition. This paper presents data about Malaysian journal publishing and the study questioned editors in chief of Malaysian journals to obtain opinions of the problems they encounter and possible solutions. Data were collected through interviews. The participants in the study highlighted four main issues that resulted in a weak publishing environment: institutional reputation building (academic reputation), researcher prestige/image building, lack of focus on local journal issues by legislators, and a weak publishing culture. The article concludes that the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education should pay attention to national initiatives in countries such as India and Australia that recognize national journals and reward researchers for publishing in them.