PUTRAJAYA, Sept 17 — The Higher Education Ministry (MOHE) has denied allegations that it failed to prioritise local students in admission to local higher education institutions (IPT).
Higher Education Director-General Datuk Prof Azlinda Azman dismissed claims by Opposition lawmaker Haim Hilman Abdullah as baseless and misleading, cautioning against confusion over the country’s higher education internationalisation policy.
“Given that he is a former vice-chancellor of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM), he should understand how universities operate, particularly the balance between local and international students
“We safeguard the interests of local students and have never neglected them,” she said during a press conference today, responding to allegations made by Haim at the 71st PAS Muktamar in Alor Setar on Monday (September 15).
Azlinda clarified that international undergraduate admissions at five research universities, namely Universiti Malaya (UM), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM), Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), and Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), are limited, with local students making up 91.6 per cent of the student body.
“At the undergraduate level, government subsidies are provided exclusively to local students,” she said.
For postgraduate programmes, including master’s and doctoral degrees, admissions are open with no cap on international students, aligning with the Malaysia Education Blueprint (2015-2025), which promotes internationalisation.
“The internationalisation policy does not neglect educational access for local students,” Azlinda said.
Citing a 2022 statement by Haim during his tenure as UUM vice-chancellor, she noted that he reported a 13.97 per cent increase in international student enrolment for the 2022/2023 session.
“This shows he supported and implemented the international intake policy at UUM,” Azlinda said.
