Scholarship providers urged to consider countries other than US

Local scholarship providers were urged to place their sponsored students in countries other than the United States after it introduced new tariff policies.

Higher Education Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir said Malaysia had many high-achieving students qualified to pursue studies in the world’s best universities, not exclusively in the US.

“We can no longer be trapped by policies that are too regressive in nature, to the extent of jeopardising opportunities for students from all over the world, including Malaysia, to study.

“For me, the best universities are also available in other countries,” he said.

He was speaking at the “Luncheon Talk With Editors” session in conjunction with the Asean-Malaysia Chairmanship 2025 Programme, organised by the Higher Education Ministry in Putrajaya today.

He was commenting on how new US tariff policies would impact Malaysian students pursuing studies there.

Previously, the Donald Trump administration issued directives to halt visa processing for all foreign students and considered measures to screen new applicants based on their social media posts.

Mara chairperson Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki reportedly said Mara would stop sending its sponsored students to the US starting this year, following the introduction of the new policies.

- Bernama

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