Malaysia and Indonesia in the Eyes of the Middle East Arab Community

Kompas

Indonesian female workers in Hong Kong expressed their solidarity with Ruhyati who was sentenced to beheading in Saudi Arabia by holding a demonstration in front of the office of the Consulate General of the Republic of Indonesia in Hong Kong, Sunday (26/6/2011).

There is a striking difference in the perception of the Arab community, especially in the Gulf Arab region, which is a rich and prosperous region in the Middle East, toward Malaysia and Indonesia.

After a long time pursuing an academic career in an “Arab country” in the Middle East and researching the intricacies of society and culture in this region, I have noticed that their view toward Malaysia is far better than that toward Indonesia. In the eyes of the Arabs of the Middle East, Malaysia's image is much better than that of Indonesia, even though many Muslim groups in Indonesia praise the Arabs of the Middle East.

Also read:

^ Haj Pilgrims Safety is-the Main Priority

^ House Lets Government Make Haj Decision

Indonesia’s status as a Muslim majority country with the largest Muslim population in the world and the largest contributor to the haj pilgrimage, is unable to boost the image of this archipelagic country. In other words, "Islamic identity" is not enough to change the image of Indonesia in the eyes of Middle Eastern Arabs, or change the perception of the people of the Middle East toward Indonesia.

Multiple Indicators

There are several indicators as to why Malaysia is considered better. First, many Arabs study at various universities in Malaysia, for undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs. The results of the R Hirschmann survey from 2020 show that there are tens of thousands of students from the Middle East studying in Malaysian universities. Many Indonesian students also study in Malaysia.

Most of the students are from Saudi Arabia, Egypt or Iraq. Meanwhile, it is difficult to find those who study on Indonesian campuses. In general, Arab people come to Indonesia not for studying, but for vacation or recreation, as well as small businesses. Popular locations for them are Bali and Bogor, which they know as “Puncak” (the peak).

In Southeast Asia, in the eyes of the Middle East Arab community, the reputation of Malaysia's higher education is only inferior to Singapore, which has long built a good and quality academic base.

I have written several letters of recommendation to colleagues or former students who wish to pursue a doctoral program in Malaysia in the field of social science studies and others. In Southeast Asia, in the eyes of the Middle East Arab community, the reputation of Malaysia's higher education is only inferior to Singapore, which has long built a good and quality academic base.

The second indicator is Malaysia (besides Singapore) is also one of the main destination countries for the King Abdullah Scholarship Program (KASP) in the Southeast Asia region. Again, Indonesia is not included as a scholarship destination country. KASP is a massive scholarship program from the government of Saudi Arabia, which since 2010 has provided scholarships for Saudi youngsters who want to study abroad in the field of non-Islamic studies, especially engineering, business and related fields.

AFP PHOTO / AMER HILABI

Saudi women take selfies during a fashion event presenting the latest collection ofan upmarket clothing boutique in the Red Sea port city of Jeddah late on November 28, 2017.

The KASP program has dispatched hundreds of thousands of students to a number of countries that are considered advanced in the field of education. Based on a study of Sidiqa Allah Murod and Sahel Zreik in 2020, the majority were sent to campuses in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and Australia. For Asia, China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), Japan and South Korea are the main destination countries, in addition to Singapore and Malaysia.

Other countries in the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Libya that have scholarship programs similar to KASP also include Malaysia – not Indonesia – as one of the education or scholarship destinations.

Admittedly, the quality of higher education in Malaysia, among others, can be seen from the high interest of the Arab community to continue their studies in the "neighboring country", in addition to the absorption of market share (jobs) for the Arab community who are alumni of Malaysian universities.

Also read:

^ Pilgrim Safety should be Main Consideration

^ Government Haj Decision Awaited

Third, various universities in the Middle East can accept teaching staff (Arabs or not) who are alumni of doctoral programs at universities in Malaysia. Meanwhile, as far as I know, no alumni of a doctoral program from an Indonesian university has been accepted to the campuses of the Middle East. Even if there are Indonesian lecturers who teach at Middle Eastern universities, like me, they are alumni of doctoral programs in North America (the US and Canada), Western Europe (the UK, Germany and France), Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Finland) or Australia.

Applicants whose doctorates were obtained from campuses in China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore are also considered and taken into account. Almost every year I am involved in the recruitment team for new teachers who apply to the campus where I work today, so it is enough to understand the internal dynamics.

Fourth, the attitude of the Arab community in general – the public attitude – toward Malaysians and Indonesians is also different. For example, if they see a "Malay face" who is a lecturer at a university, they will usually think of him or her at first as Malaysian.

What causes the perception of the Middle East Arab community towards Malaysia and Indonesia to differ?

Maybe they think of the Indonesian “class” as not lecturers, but workers in the informal economy, for example unskilled workers such as drivers, construction workers and the like for men, or housekeepers for women. What causes the perception of the Middle East Arab community towards Malaysia and Indonesia to differ?

Fundamental factors

I see there are several factors underlying this difference. First, Malaysia is seen as successful in building a quality higher education sector but at a relatively affordable cost. For the Arab community of the Middle East, especially those who are not accepted or are reluctant to study at Western campuses because of certain religious or cultural reasons other than being expensive, or for those who do not want to study on campuses in developing countries for the reason that his diploma would not sell well in the market, higher education in Malaysia can be a promising alternative.

KOMPAS/LARASWATI ARIADNE ANWAR

Left to right: researcher from Universiti Sains Malaysia Azmil Moh Tayeb, moderator Didin Syafruddin, and discussion responder from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Hew Wai Weng discuss patterns of religious education in Malaysia in a seminar on religious education in Southeast Asia, in Jakarta, Monday (14/1 2019).

It must be admitted, compared to Indonesia, a number of universities in Malaysia such as Universiti Malaya, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Putra Malaysia are seen as successful in building quality academic reputations at the global level. The indications can be seen from the QS World University Ranking and others. Meanwhile, well-known Indonesian universities are still scrambling to build a brand at the international level. Compared to Indonesia, Malaysia has also long applied the teaching-learning model in English which has also influenced and boosted the image and reputation of its higher education at the global level.

Second, Malaysia is seen as a Muslim country that is advanced in the economic field, while Indonesia is still considered an “undeveloped country” even though various changes and development breakthroughs have been made. Of course, it is difficult for the Arab community of the Middle East to send students to countries that they consider to be economically undeveloped.

Third, Malaysia is not a country that exports “unskilled labor" to the Middle East and other regions so it is natural that their image, reputation and credibility are considered more authoritative than Indonesia. Meanwhile, Indonesia's predicate is still strong as a supplier of unskilled labor to Middle East Arab countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar or Kuwait, in addition to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia.

Because it has been going on for decades, since the early 1980s, it is very difficult to erase the image of Indonesia in the eyes of Middle Eastern Arabs as a country “that exports coolies and babu [domestic helpers]". Because of this factor, it is difficult to raise the reputation of the Indonesian people in the eyes of the Middle Eastern Arab community.

Serious effort

For this reason, I see that in the future it is necessary for the Indonesian government to make serious efforts so that their "dignity" is higher and they are more authoritative and respected among the people of the Middle East and the global community as well. The improvement of the economic and technological sectors is very important to do this. Countries with advanced economic and technological levels tend to be more authoritative and respected.

I see that the government has worked hard to develop the economic, technology and education sectors even though the results have not been widely appreciated by the international community.

Cultivating the higher education sector with "international quality" is also important and must be done seriously. I see that the government has worked hard to develop the economic, technology and education sectors even though the results have not been widely appreciated by the international community.

Finally, the government must gradually stop the program of "exporting" manual labor to other countries, including to the Middle East, and replace it with, if necessary, professional workers. Of course, this is not easy to realize in the near future and it is difficult homework, especially since Indonesia's economic condition has not yet progressed and employment opportunities are still limited so the unemployment rate is high. However, do not ever get fatigued by this, and give up trying to be the best and foremost. Nothing is impossible under this moon.

ARSIP PRIBADI

Sumanto Al Qurtuby

Sumanto Al Qurtuby, Founder of Nusantara Institute, Senior Fellow at the Middle East Institute; Lecturer at the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals

(This article was translated by Kurniawan Siswoko)