UNS — The Faculty of Social and Political Sciences (FISIP), Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS) Surakarta, hosted a webinar entitled “FISIP UNS Global Fiesta featuring the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta,” Monday (18/4/2022). The event is conducted in collaboration with the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, which aims to introduce the advantages of further study to Malaysia to FISIP UNS students. Two speakers were presented at this event, the Education Attaché of the Malaysian Embassy in Jakarta, Mr. Mohd Mubarak Shamsuddin, and the Deputy Director of Tourism Malaysia, Ms. Haryanty Abu Bakr.
The webinar was opened directly by the Vice Dean for Academic, Research, and Student Affairs FISIP UNS, Dra. Prahastiwi Utari, M.Si, Ph.D. In her remarks, Dr. Utari said that the event was a valuable and useful opportunity because FISIP UNS students can get detailed information regarding education in Malaysia if they plan for further study in this country.
During the event, FISIP UNS students received extensive material from Ms. Haryanty regarding the governance structure and politics in Malaysia, as well as tourism aspects that currently become Malaysia’s priorities. Furthermore, Ms. Haryanty said that Indonesia is one of the most important market shares in Malaysian tourism due to its large population. According to her, there are several reasons why Indonesians love visiting Malaysia during vacation. The first is because the two countries are adjacent geographically, which facilitates accessibility. Secondly, similarities in cultural clusters between Indonesia and Malaysia lead to a minimal ‘lag’ in terms of culture and daily life. It is not surprising that tourists from Indonesia choose Malaysia as a tourism destination when traveling abroad.
“The two countries have identical language since it is both rooted in Malay, which makes tourists or expatriates from both countries do not experience many obstacles,” explained Ms. Haryanty. She also added that the exchange rates between the two countries were not significantly different. This means that the currency value is more affordable for Indonesian and Malaysian people who want to travel to either country.
Following Ms. Haryanty’s presentation, Mr. Mohd. Mubarak bin Shamsuddin explained why Malaysia could be an alternative for UNS FISIP students who want to continue their studies. First, he considers Malaysia to have a world-class quality of higher education. This claim is proved by the many universities in Malaysia listed in the QS Top 100 Universities list. “There is Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), and Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM),” Mr. Mohd. Mubarak bin Shamsuddin.
Another reason was the cost of education in Malaysia is considered “more friendly” for Indonesian students who want to pursue further studies abroad. He explained that Malaysia has several scholarship schemes available to students from Indonesia. Based on this reason, he considers Malaysia is favorable in terms of education costs. Concluding his presentation, he encouraged FISIP UNS students to stay enthusiastic about continuing their studies in Malaysia since they could apply for a scholarship from the Malaysian Government. For this reason, he encourages students to periodically check the Malaysian Government’s official website or social media to find out the schedule, requirements, and registration mechanism for the scholarships. Humas UNS
Reporter: Y.C.A. Sanjaya
Editor: Dwi Hastuti