Page 29 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

Munusamy and Hashim, 2019

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21 century. The inter-universities cooperation or networking is vital for reciprocal research
grant opportunities, new ventures, credit transfer and community engagement. It also provides
a platform for local higher education institutions to benchmark against foreign higher education
institutions. Benchmarking opportunities are also significant in the networking with political
influencers. “Inter-regional collaboration is the formula of success. We can benchmark each
other and learn the success story and past mistakes. It enables us to benchmark with best
practices from all over the world” as specified by a Senior Officer of an agency under MOE.
Within the framework of international cooperation and networking, administrators specified
that soft power also materialised as an important tool for participation in international
negotiation and volunteerism.

Internationalisation of higher education in Malaysia has also been promoted to sustain national
identity and regional identity. “Lot of students come to Malaysia because we have a strong
national identity in sense of ways of thinking, ways of doing things and the process involved”
was offered by an administrator from a research university. The cultural similarity between
Malaysia and several ASEAN countries has contributed towards an enhanced regional identity.
This can be seen in through the implementation of the ASEAN International Student Mobility
Programme (AIMS). The cooperation within ASEAN and Asian regions have also helped to
promote inter-regional exchanges among students and academics

Although many administrators were of the view that the political rationale shaped the inter-
regional cooperation for networking and partnerships, several interviewees mentioned that
networking often tends to be loose and less effective in terms of cooperation and collaboration
in the field of higher education. These are due to the fact that “interregional cooperation is not
binding” and that it is “very difficult to get consensus or getting majority agreement between
the blocks” (Senior Officers, departments under MOE).

The Economic Rationale

The economic rationale was placed at first ranking; 12 (80%) out of 15 administrators specified
that the economic rationale played an important role for Malaysia to embark in
internationalisation. Under the economic rationale, the dominant factors were income
generation, financial sustainability, incentives and sources for economic growth. Respondents
stressed that revenue from international students and their families’ expenses during the study
period in Malaysia contributed to income generation. The biggest contributors are postgraduate
international students. The international students’ positive experiences during their stay in
Malaysia encourage them to buy things on their return to their home country which also
generates income for Malaysia. A Senior Officer of a department in MOE expressed that “…..
currently (2018) there are 173,000 international students in Malaysia and they are
contributing more than RM7 billion. The contribution of international students is equal to the
budget of 20 public universities”. Other sources of income were from the establishment of
foreign branch campuses in Malaysia, financially supported exchange programmes and foreign
research grants. A senior administrator of a research university stated that research universities
in Malaysia receive many research grants through networks and partnerships from abroad.
The interview results confirmed that there is a strong connection between internationalisation
of higher education and economic growth. Nearly 70% of respondents stated that international
students at local higher education institutions and branch campuses including their families are
major contributors to the economic growth in Malaysia. The positive economic growth in
Malaysia attracts foreign investment and creates stronger economic ties between Malaysia and
ASEAN countries. Opportunities of reciprocal learning and training, international lecturers and

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