Companies enlisted for student cash fund

The Malaysian government says it wants private-sector companies, especially those which are financially sound and have been enjoying special privileges, to contribute towards the higher education fund for poor students.

The government launched the fund with a M$100 million (approximately Pounds 25.6 million) grant to help poor students pay fees when the universities become corporations.

"The government has taken the initiative to finance the larger portion of the expenses. The private sector should now assist," said deputy prime minister Ibrahim Anwar.

The inland revenue board will help implement the fund, allowing students who obtain loans to repay them in automatic salary deductions.

Mr Anwar, who is also president of the International Islamic University, said that with automatic salary deductions those who had taken out loans could not escape repayment.

"That is the trouble with some of our students. They are given scholarships and loans but when they start working and earn even up to M$10,000 they refuse to pay," he said.

Mr Anwar said the government's "open policy" allows more foreign lecturers to teach in Malaysian universities, especially in areas where Malaysians lacked expertise such as science and technology, engineering and information technology.

It also proposes to make 50 per cent of the income of non-resident critical subject lecturers in approved institutions and organisations exempt from income tax.

This will only apply to lecturers in science, engineering, information technology, high technology, philosophy and other critical disciplines.

The exemption will also apply to non-resident companies and organisations for services rendered by their lecturers in approved training institutions.

Mr Anwar expressed concern about the public misconception that the International Islamic University (IIU) was recruiting foreign academics and students at the expense of Malaysians.

Founded by prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohomad, the university was intended to become an international centre of excellence for Muslim and non-Muslim students as well as Malaysians and non-Malaysians.

Foreign academics were recruited because there was a general shortage of Malaysian lecturers, explained Mr Anwar. As an international institution, it was only normal for the university to enrol foreign students, although they accounted for only 10 per cent of the university's 10,000 students.

Malaysian academic staff feel that foreign lecturers are being given preferential treatment. Mr Anwar said this was a normal reaction, but he did not think there was a serious problem.

Mr Anwar added that when the university opened, 70 per cent of its teaching staff was foreign. However, this has been reduced to 30 per cent, he said.

"If there are qualified Malaysians who want to teach in the university, please tell me and we will recruit them," he said.

Other universities are also seeking foreign lecturers because of the lack of Malaysian experts. Institutions such as the IIU have an advantage because the medium of instruction is English.

"We have sent Malaysians abroad to do their PhDs and when they complete their studies, they will return to serve as lecturers here," said Mr Anwar.