About 200 Malaysian students wanting to pursue their tertiary education in the United States are now left wondering if they can still make it to their respective institutions of education in time for the September intake.

This is because the students, all male, are still waiting for their visas to be issued by the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur. In previous years, Malaysian students had not faced such problems as study visas were issued within three weeks.

Since July 23, US immigration policy for visa applications from 26 countries mostly from the Middle East was tightened, possibly to deter unwanted guests in the country, especially with the first year anniversary of the Sept 11 tragedy around the corner.

The countries affected include Afghanistan, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and territories of Gaza and the West Bank.

The new regulations include a 20-day background check on men between the ages of 16 and 45. The checks are done by the US State Department in Washington and this significantly contributes to the long delay in issuing visas, possibly extending to a delay of about five or six months.

Unfortunately this new policy includes tighter screening for Malaysian men too as Malaysia is also on the list.

Filling more forms

The US government has defended this new ruling as being consistent with its legal and security responsibilities.

In the beginning, the US embassy here had said that all attempts are made to meet the needs of Malaysian travellers and that the special screening procedures are only imposed to a limited number of prospective travellers, who will be informed that there will be a delay of six to eight weeks only.

However, Malaysians applying for visas, especially students, are now being told they will have to wait for up to six months before their applications are processed.

On top of the delay, all Malaysian male travelers to the US are required to fill up more forms now, giving in detail their travel plans and other personal information.

While one may say that the US government is not wrong in trying to prevent a repeat of the Sept 11 terror attacks, the question that jumps to mind is why are Malaysians subjected to this strict policy.

In the aftermath of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, US authorities were accused of violating civil rights of mainly Arabs by arresting hundreds of mostly young men, often on minor immigration violations, and subjecting them to secret hearings.

The US authorities were also accused of profiling individuals of Arab and Middle Eastern origin at US airports. The US authorities also took various other security steps to deter any possible attacks in their country.

It is understandable if stringent visa requirements are imposed to travelers from the Middle East as all the hijackers that were involved in the Sept 11 attacks were Arabs.

Discrediting reports

Although in the follow up to the US's war against terrorism, Malaysian police had apprehended about 60 alleged members of Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia, a militant group said to have links with terrorist Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda network, that doesn't mean we should be lumped together with other terrorists-breeding countries.

Of course the various reports from a variety of US-based magazines that Malaysia had been a focal meeting point for al-Qaeda members who had participated in the Sept 11 terror attacks would have discredited our reputation a little.

But then following the very successful visit by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to the White House in May as well as the reciprocal visit by the US State Secretary George Powell to Malaysia last month, one would assume that the involved parties were telling the truth that Malaysia was a "close friend" of US in fighting terrorism.

If that is the case, why are we grouped together with the other 25 countries to undergo stringent screening for visa applications? It is unfair, especially if it involves our students as well.

There are presently about 12,000 Malaysian students studying in the US and every year a new batch of 5,000 students fly to the US to pursue their studies. There have been no reported cases of Malaysian students being involved in any activities that are detrimental to the security of that country.

Most of the time, the only news we hear about our students in US are when they perish in road accidents.

Apart from students, about 4,000 Malaysians apply for US visas at the Embassy in Kuala Lumpur every month.

Prejudiced against Malaysians

The new directive by the US government has just made it difficult for these people to travel to the US.

Perhaps it's just a directive issued by the State Department without realising that Malaysia, although a country with a dominant Muslim population is different from other Muslim countries.

Even after the Sept 11 attacks, Malaysians were subjected to closer scrutiny at US airports. Malay Malaysians who were working as flight attendants were queried for a long time before being allowed into the country.

As for some Indian Malaysians, the AL letters in the passports that followed their names and which meant ' anak lelaki ' or 'son of' was seen as part of an Arab name. This was used in a few instances to deny entry to these Malaysians.

Actually the new visa ruling is not new. It was introduced last November and at that time the US embassy here had said that it was only a temporary ruling.

The embassy in a statement dated Nov 13 said "(the) procedure is being implemented on an interim basis to enhance the security of our visa issuing process". The visa applications became normal again sometime later, only to be made stringent again in July.

Not our style

What is the duration of the 'interim basis' is something that only the US government can answer. While no one is questioning the US government's right to ensure security in its land, it must also realise that not all Muslim countries carry the threats of terrorism through its citizens.

In this score the mandarins at the State Department must come to their senses that Malaysia is definitely not a country that has a large pool of terrorists who are dead keen on attacking the US.

It's just not our style. While some of us would protest and burn US flags opposite the country' embassy, it is highly improbable that we would even think of subjecting ourselves to the bomb culture.

Once the US authorities realise this, they will know that they are victimising Malaysians, especially our students who are keen to pursue their studies in the US.

K Kabilan is the news editor of

malaysiakini .