Higher Education in Malaysia and Indonesia: A Comparison [PDF]

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Saznizam Sazmee Sinoh



Task 2



Task 2: Higher Education in Malaysia and Indonesia The higher education landscape Malaysia and Indonesia has similarities and differences. Indonesia’s first institute for higher learning, Universitas Indonesia was established nearly half a century before Malaysia’s first, University of Malaya. However, Indonesia’s head start in higher education did not carry forward into the present day. Out of 20 public universities and nearly 100 private universities/university colleges, Malaysia has 5 institutions which are ranked among the Top 300 universities in the world (QS Ltd, 2017). On the other hand, Indonesia has 30 public universities and over 2,000 private institutions of higher education of which only 1 is ranked among the Top 300 universities in the world (QS Ltd, 2017). Thus, arises the question as to how Indonesian higher education differs from that in other neighboring countries. This essay aims to discuss the differences in higher education between Indonesia and Malaysia. One of the most influential factors in the development of higher education is government support. Indeed, Indonesia and Malaysia differ largely in their policy regarding higher education. For example, Malaysia spends nearly 5% of its annual budget on higher education (The Star, 2017). Most of this is spent on advancing research especially in Malaysia’s 5 Research Universities (RU). The Malaysian government shows great interest in producing quality and impactful research. However, Indonesian universities do not consider research a priority. Instead, most are focused on producing more diploma and bachelor level graduates to satisfy the needs of a developing nation. Therefore, many incentives by the Indonesian government shy away from producing more research capable graduates in favor of employable graduates. In fact, Utama & Ambariyanto (2017) point out that the number of academic staff with a doctoral qualification in Indonesian universities is very low. Thus, the number of research capable human resources needs to be increased if more high impact research is to be done in the country. Apart from that, Malaysia and Indonesia differ in international popularity when it comes to higher education. In Malaysia, the Higher Education Blueprint (HEB) is a 10-year plan to improve the country’s higher education landscape regionally and internationally by 2025. The HEB also includes a plan for Malaysia to host at least 250,000 international students by the target year. Currently, Malaysia has approximately 130,000 students studying in both public and private institutions in the country with most coming from Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nigeria, India and Pakistan. In fact, Malaysia is a popular study destination for many potential students from abroad. However, there are only approximately 10,000 international University of Malaya



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Saznizam Sazmee Sinoh



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students currently studying in Indonesia. There is little interest for non-Indonesians to study there apart from Malaysians who principally study medicine in the country. The main reason for this could be due to the main medium of instruction in Indonesian universities being in Bahasa Indonesia. In fact, there are many challenges in higher education for both Indonesia and Malaysia. One of these is the challenge of transitioning from a domestic market to an international one for Indonesia. Indeed, Indonesia needs more academicians with doctoral level qualifications. More PhD-level academic staff results in more postgraduates in the country and more research capable individuals. However, challenges for Indonesia are different than those for Malaysia. For example, the Malaysian government must address the displacement of local students caused by the influx of more international students at its universities. One possible solution would be to send these displaced local students to study abroad. For this to be realized, the government must ensure local students are academically capable and support them financially through scholarships. Apart from that, with the increased focus on research in Malaysia, it is important that the teaching and learning aspects at universities are not compromised. Pursuing higher quality research is important, but the needs of society must be met with quality university graduates who will drive the Malaysian economy. References Budget 2018: Najib announces total allocation of RM280.25bil. (2017, October 27). The Star. Retrieved



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https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/27/budget-2018-najib-beginsdelivery-of-speech/ QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. (2017). QS World University Rankings 2018. Retrieved November, 20, 2017 from https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/worlduniversity-rankings/2018 Utama, Y. J. & Ambariyanto. (2017). Achieving research university: Indonesian case. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 55, 012072.



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