China's Top Universities Consider Setting Up Campuses in Malaysia - Envoy

KUALA LUMPUR, June 19 (Bernama) -- Several major universities in China are considering the establishment of overseas campuses here in Malaysia, said China's Ambassador Chai Xi. He said top Chinese universities such as the Xiamen University and Jinan University had voiced their interest on this matter and were looking at Malaysia for their overseas destination. "They have started thinking about the possibility of setting up their overseas campuses in Malaysia. "I was informed that the Malaysian side has responded positively towards this idea," he said in an interview with Bernama, here. He said China's Education Ministry was now in the midst of working out the policies and regulations to facilitate its implementation. Chai was also confident that when the project came through, thousands of students in China could opt to further their tertiary education in an off-campus location while it could also attract local students as well as those from neighbouring countries. Commenting on the recent recognition given by the Malaysian government to some 820 qualifications from insitutes of higher learning in China, Chai said the move would encourage more Malaysian students to further their tertiary education in China besides encouraging student exchanges between both countries. He added that China's Education Ministry currently was also reviewing to recognise qualifications from some 64 institutes of higher learning from Malaysia. To date, there are more than 10,000 of China's students studying in Malaysia while about 3,000 Malaysians are currently studying in the republic. On the Malaysia My Second Home Programme (MM2H), Chai said more Chinese nationals were expected to join the programme in the coming years. "There are also many developers from China who come to develop houses in Malaysia. Their development and investment here will not just benefit the locals. "I believe it will also help to attract more mainland Chinese to come and join the MM2H programme and buy houses here," he added. Chinese nationals topped the list of participants for the programme in 2011 with a total of 2,857 participants registered. -- BERNAMA