Anti-Malaysian sentiment puts universities at risk
Anti-Malaysian sentiment puts universities at risk
Yuli Tri Suwarni and Andi Hajramurni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung/Makassar
Staff at Bandung's Padjadjaran University are worried that anti-
Malaysian sentiment could cause Malaysian students to leave the
country, depriving the institution of much-needed revenue.
Spokesman Hadi Suprapto Arifin said on Thursday there were 350
students from Malaysia studying medicine and dentistry at
Pajadjaran.
The students were charged an average of US$8,000 per year each
and contributed a total of US$2.8 million a year to university
revenue in study fees, Hadi said.
"We hope that the diplomatic row between Indonesia and
Malaysia is settled through diplomatic channels and not through
war. If the war happens, there is too much at stake, including
the revenue that our university earns hosting the students," he
said.
Local businesses would also be hurt by any exodus, as
Malaysian students generally spent between US$2,000 and US$3,000
a year each in living costs, he said.
Malaysians have been studying at the university since the
1960s. High demand in recent years has led Padjadjaran staff to
establish separate classes for international students, where all
the learning is conducted in English.
A diplomatic row between Indonesia and Malaysia about the
Ambalat Block undersea oil field has caused nationwide protests
in recent weeks.
However, the protests had not greatly affected the Malaysian
students at the university yet, Hadi said.
Relationships between Padjadjaran and Malaysia were still good
and the university would take part in an education expo there on
March 29, he said.
There are currently about 6,000 Malaysian students studying
in learning institutes across Indonesia.
In South Sulawesi, Hasanuddin University deputy dean of
medicine Wardihan said that several Malaysian students had come
to him following the anti-Malaysian protests in the province.
They had asked him about a range of issues, including security
and how to deal with the media. The students told him they still
felt safe, although they admitted the anti-Malaysian protests had
disturbed them, Wardihan said.
If the protests continued, the students would eventually leave
the country, which would constitute a great loss to the nation,
Wardihan said.
Indonesian universities would not only suffer from financial
losses, they would also lose future business, he said.
"It is not easy to build trust (in education institutions).
"We can visit Malaysia many times to promote our university, but
if people lose their trust in us, these promotional efforts will
be useless," he said.
One hundred and fifty-two Malaysian students study at the
university.