Page 35 - AEI Insights 2019 - Vol. 5, Issue 1

Munusamy and Hashim, 2019

partnership and strategic alliance which fall under the political and academic rationale as well
as reasonably supported by the economic and socio-cultural rationale.
The study recommends that Malaysia needs to consider all the four rationale as proposed by
Knight (2004) in order to further strengthen the internationalisation of higher education. The
four rationale have to be inter-related to gain the full benefits of internationalisation and to
develop a comprehensive policy as stated by Qiang (2003). Even though Malaysian
internationalisation efforts started in the early 1980s and achieved some recognition, there is
still room for improvement. It would be fruitful if further research is conducted to identify the
rationale for internationalisation focusing on private higher education institutions and
challenges faced by the Malaysian higher education system due to internationalisation efforts.

The findings of this study should help policymakers and higher education stakeholders to better
understand the current state of Malaysia’s higher education internationalisation agenda and its
rationale. They should also assist policymakers to develop a comprehensive policy of
internationalisation for the Malaysian higher education system. This would help Malaysia to
move forward with its internationalisation efforts and achieve 250,000 international students
by 2025 as well as become an international hub of higher education in the region.

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