Central Java Provincial Government Expands Cooperation with Malacca State

The Provincial Government of Central Java is expanding its cooperation with Malacca State, Malaysia, to encompass the pesantren (Islamic boarding school) sector, including the exchange of students, teachers, and educational networks.

Central Java Deputy Governor Taj Yasin Maimoen stated in Semarang on Tuesday that exploratory talks have been conducted with Malacca State, one of which involved a friendly visit from the leader of Al Muhibbin Islamic Boarding School in Malacca, Muhammad Hadi Al Muhibbin. He noted that strengthening this collaboration is a follow-up to the ‘sister province’ partnership established between Central Java and Malacca in 2025.

Under the sister province scheme, two regional governments from different countries build an official partnership as a framework for cooperation in various fields, including education, culture, the economy, and human resource development. ‘We will further ensure how the cooperation between Malacca and Central Java will work, particularly between Islamic boarding schools in Central Java and one in Malacca,’ said Gus Yasin, as he is familiarly known. The partnership built at the government level must be followed by broader cooperation at the educational institution level so that the benefits can be directly felt by the community. ‘Currently, there are student and teacher exchanges between Indonesian and Malaysian ulama,’ he said.

In addition to strengthening international cooperation, the Central Java Provincial Government is also continuously improving the quality of human resources in pesantren through the Santri and Pesantren Caregiver Scholarship Programme. In 2026, the programme attracted high interest with a total of 941 applicants for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral programmes, both domestic and international. For the overseas programme, successful candidates will continue their studies in several countries, including Egypt, Yemen, China, and the Philippines. He noted that santri are now showing increasingly diverse interests in fields of study, including Islamic sciences, with some choosing science, technology, and even medicine.

Meanwhile, the leader of Al Muhibbin Islamic Boarding School in Malacca, Muhammad Al Muhibbin, welcomed the plan to strengthen cooperation. According to him, relations between Indonesia and Malaysia have been close since the era of the kingdoms and have deep historical roots. He expressed hope that the partnership built by the two regional governments could serve as a gateway for strengthening cooperation between pesantren, including student exchanges and the development of Islamic education networks. ‘If the relationship between the governments is well established, it will be easier to implement student exchanges between Indonesia and Malaysia. Such friendly visits pave the way to strengthen scholarly relations between the two regions,’ he said.