Malaysia's melting pot

When Asian students consider studying abroad, developed countries such as the United States, Britain and Australia usually top the list. Mainland students Chen Da from Suzhou and He Yajie from Hunan know that attending a well-established institution in the western world has traditionally been considered the path to success. However, the students, both 21, have chosen a different route. They are among a growing number of international students heading to Malaysia to take advantage of an English education, comparatively cheap fees and the country's multicultural society. 'For Chinese students, Malaysia is easy to come to,' said Yajie, a professional communications student at Limkokwing University of Creative Technology in Kuala Lumpur. 'Malaysia is the western and eastern cultures together. I feel like it can be a middle stop so I can go on to a western country.' It has been just over a year since Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi announced the country's goal of attracting 100,000 international students by 2010 as part of its plan to become an education hub. With no Malaysian institutions listed in the world's top 200 universities and competition for the lucrative international student market hotting up among Asian nations, it may seem a tough ask. But already there are signs that the target of 80,000 international university students and 20,000 school students is in sight. Since Malaysia began welcoming foreign students in the early 1980s, numbers have swelled rapidly and there are now about 66,000 international students enrolled in the country's schools and universities. This includes more than 14,000 international students who attend public universities and more than 33,600 in private universities. The government encourages international undergraduate students to study at private institutions by imposing a 5 per cent cap on the number allowed to attend public universities and banning them from courses such as medicine, law and dentistry at public institutions. There is no quota for postgraduate international students. Indonesia, China, Iran, Nigeria and Bangladesh are the top five sources for students. Isarji Sarudin, an academic at the International Islamic University in Kuala Lumpur, who has researched the liberalisation of the education system, said the push to become an education hub could be traced back to the early 1970s when the government launched a policy to transform Malaysia into an industrialised nation. 'One of the ways to develop the new economy was to get skilled workers,' said Dr Isarji, an associate professor in the university's Centre for Languages and Pre-University Academic Development. 'That's why, in the early 1980s, the Malaysian government sent thousands of students overseas.' By 1985 there were 23,000 Malaysian students in the US alone. When a financial crisis struck in 1987 it became more difficult to send students overseas, so the country began developing its own education system. 'In 1987 there were only seven public universities. Today there are about 20, as well as 36 private universities, 21 polytechnics, 37 community colleges and 485 private colleges,' Dr Isarji said. While some countries are reassessing their education aims and budgets amid the global financial crisis, Dr Isarji believes the downturn could work to Malaysia's advantage. He said that after previous financial turmoil, such as the Asian financial crisis in 1997/98, international student numbers rose. Malaysia also attracted more international students after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York. 'There's no doubt that when you talk about September 11 you talk about Muslim students but there's more to it. It's very difficult for international students in the US right now. They are coming to Malaysia, especially Muslim students,' Dr Isarji said. 'As far as Muslim students are concerned, we have a liberal society, a liberal education, and yet they can practise their religion here - the culture is here, the food is here.' Dr Isarji expects more international students may come to Asia in future instead of heading to more expensive countries such as Australia, the US and Europe. 'If you look at Asia there are three countries that can attract international students - Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia. All three countries use English, at least as a second language,' he said. 'The advantage Malaysia has over Singapore and Hong Kong is the number of universities that we have. We have about 600 higher education institutions - from community colleges all the way to public universities. With so many higher education institutions we have so many programmes we can offer,' he said, adding that the government had strict accreditation procedures. Dr Isarji, who said international students from 97 countries made up 5,000 of the 18,000 students studying at the private International Islamic University, believed Malaysia's multicultural society appealed to students around the world. 'They are comfortable coming here because of the multilingual, multicultural society. You don't have that in Hong Kong or Singapore.' International students are not allowed to work in Malaysia during the semester but can work up to 20 hours a week during semester break. While Hong Kong allows international students to study only at local universities, Malaysia allows them to also enrol at overseas institutions operating in the country. Australian universities such as Monash University and Curtin University, and Britain's University of Nottingham have campuses in Malaysia, and Dr Isarji believed this, combined with the country' s long history of offering courses in collaboration with overseas universities, had helped attract international students. He believed attracting 100,000 students by 2010 was a realistic goal. 'I'm very confident that we can achieve it as long as public and private universities are doing a good job,' he said. At the country's oldest public university, the University of Malaya, international students represent 4.8 per cent of the undergraduate population and 22.2 per cent of postgraduate students. Deputy vice-chancellor (academic and international) Mohammed Amin Jalaludin said the university would reach the 5 per cent cap when the next semester started in January. 'Of course we want to get more international students for undergraduate level but it's limited by the policy,' he said. Professor Amin said Malaysia was well on its way to becoming an education hub and reaching the 2010 goal. 'I think it's realistic and the ministry has indicated we are not only going for the numbers but we must make sure that the students we accept are of good quality,' he said. Professor Amin believed providing high-quality, affordable education was the secret to attracting international students. He did not consider Hong Kong a major competitor. 'We can attract more,' he said. 'We have affordable fees, good facilities, high quality education ... we have very competitive fees compared to other Asian countries.' At the University of Malaya, international undergraduate students pay three times what locals pay, while postgraduate foreign students pay 50 per cent more. Professor Amin said the university was aggressively recruiting around the world. It is trying to reach students across Asia and the Middle East by offering Malay studies in South Korea and Cairo, Egypt, and is hoping to open a language institute in the mainland province of Hebei. The Ministry of Higher Education is also investing heavily in promoting its education sector, with offices on the mainland, in Vietnam, Indonesia and Dubai reaching out to surrounding countries. Ali Muhadi, a senior principal assistant director in the ministry, said recent promotions had paid off, with international student numbers rising this year. He was confident Malaysia would attract 100,000 international students by 2010. 'I think we can even get more than that,' he said. Mark Mason, professor of comparative and international education and development at the Hong Kong Institute of Education, said Malaysia seemed to be taking advantage of the US decision to make it more difficult for international students to study in the country since the 9/11 attacks. 'Malaysia appears to be positioning itself as an education hub within a context of moderate Islam - a society sufficiently open, sufficiently modern, sufficiently engaged with the rest of the world to be a credible provider of tertiary education but in a context that still recognises the importance of Islamic traditions, values and commitments.' Professor Mason believes Hong Kong should pay attention to developments in Malaysia's education sector. 'If Hong Kong is serious about positioning itself as a substantial provider of education services to international students ... then it should indeed be concerned about Malaysia's increasing success in this domain,' he said.