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 1
Saznizam Sazmee Sinoh Task 2

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 November, 20, 2017 from
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2017/10/27/budget-2018-najib-begins-
delivery-of-speech/

QS Quacquarelli Symonds Limited. (2017). QS World University Rankings 2018. Retrieved

November, 20, 2017 from https://www.topuniversities.com/university-rankings/world-
university-rankings/2018

Utama, Y. J. & Ambariyanto. (2017). Achieving research university: Indonesian case. IOP
Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 55, 012072.

University of Malaya 2