I'm a foreigner like - first mistake to come Malaysia here with any expectation/preconceptions at all - come with all new and know nothing about it to begin with!
No doubt Malaysia has developed compared to most of the poor Asian courtiers like India, China, Burma, etc but it is still poor respect to its neighbor Singapore.
When I came here, two years back as a postgraduate student in one of the famous public university, my expectation was great. I had heard and read on the website that Malaysia is developing tiger in Asian countries; no doubt, it is but only in few fields, like road or building.
Due to many multinational companies and tourism, I thought that I would find the country as I expected. But I was wrong when I started staying here. I found that it is worse country for foreign students.
There is hatred for them, hard life and discrimination and same time there is no much meaning for the degrees they earn, even in Malaysia.
Malays mentality is far below than what I had expected. I thought that they must have learned lot from multination culture and tourism, but I am fully wrong.
Just structural development is not everything - today, USA, UK, Singapore, Australia is well know not only for structural development but for mental development as well, and it is here I realized the true meaning of mental and educational development.
But after landing here and passing few days, I started realizing that there is something wrong with this country - many thing wrong.
Malaysian (Bumiputra they called, by the way, it is Bumi - Land, putra - son) being majority in nation have been protected by so many rules, in their own country because simply they cannot survive without it (I think, if not why they need this).
Anyway, it is not my concern, I am foreigner and I am not there to stay, it's their own matter. I know that in many nations, weaker and smaller section need protection - called minority groups, but here surprise to see that majority need protection.
Surprise to see that, in my two years of life here, I could not make any single malay friend (I am not talking about girl friend, I think that is easy here although I have not tried and I am not here for that purpose), it is not that I have weakness in making friend, on other hand I have made lots of international friends after coming here.
There are three races here, Malay, India and Chinese, being one country they should live in harmony, and mix well among each other, but I have not seen any Chinese talking or making friends with Malay or India.
I feel from their faces that every race here hate other race, they are only forced to stay together because of the strict rules but not due to their will or happiness. Even Chinese or Indian Muslims are not close with Malays Muslims.
Even malays among themselves are not so cooperative (I have heard but not sure, because I have no malay friend to know in deeper, you may tell me).
By the way, that is culture, let's talk about education, for which foreign students are here. As far as education is concern, they have no any standard. There is vast difference between Singapore and Malaysia education, although they are so close.
Apart from that, I feel that 75% lecturers and professors are not fit for the places which they are occupying, so is the students. But anyway they are good for each other. I mean to says that no matter how worse malay student is, malay lecturer will pass him, and no doubt, after that job is waiting for him, that is also in multinational company because of the government protection rule.
But when malay lecturer sees a foreigner student he turns his face away from him; I don't know why there is so much hatred for foreigners? They feel that foreigners have come to rob their houses and property. If they don't like foreign students, then why they give them admission and visa?
Malaysia universities are very poor in research and practical works. Although there are lots of multinational companies, there is no any connection between them, either in research or practical work.
Students don't know what the companies want, and companies don't know what students are studying. There is no any assistantship for needy and hardworking foreign students, although there are lots for locals.
No matter how great you (foreigners) are in studies, if you have money you will study in Malaysia or go back home, very simple formula. You are not allowed to work according to government rule and if you caught working then there is jail and cane beating, they will not simply deport you like western county (this shows their true mentality).
Apart from these there is much discrimination among local and foreign students inside universities, few I have mentioned above, lot remains to be mentioned, but I want to hear from you! Especially from those who have earned their degrees in foreign land. Do they treat you like what you treat us here?
Skeptics will just say the rules propagate a generation of lazy/corrupt with no incentive to improve their own standard of living because everything get is handed to them on a plate by a nanny state.
Business owners fight harder because they don't get special treatment. Yet generations have been under the same regime for donkey's years...…..
As you get older you'll forget about changing an entire country and just accept everything is…………
