By Mohd Shukri Ishak
SOLO, Central Java: Malaysia is targeting to draw 20,000 Indonesians to pursue higher education in the country in 2020.
To this end, Education Malaysia in Indonesia (EMI) director, Associate Prof Dr Mior Harris Mior Harun said EMI had set up a booth in conjunction with Malaysia’s ‘Visit Malaysia 2020’ promotion programme in Semarang, Solo and Yogyakarta.
“We are promoting education packages and the latest initiatives on pre-conditions for entry into Malaysian universities,” he told Bernama.
According to him, there are currently 11,000 Indonesians studying in Malaysia.
“We are also collecting data on Indonesian students studying in Malaysia particularly from Central Java through this programme,” he said.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Zainal Abidin Bakar yesterday launched the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign for Central Java, which is coordinated by Tourism Malaysia.
Zainal Abidin said there were currently 170,000 foreign students in Malaysia’s higher education institutions.
“Malaysia sees Indonesia which has a population of more than 260 million as a big potential in promoting Malaysia as a place for Indonesians to pursue their higher education.
“We have prepared many initiatives aside from affordable fees,” he said, adding, Malaysia’s culture and language were almost similar to Indonesia’s, not to mention the good quality and ranking of Malaysian universities. – Bernama
