JAKARTA, September 23 2026, Malaysia is expanding higher education cooperation with provincial governments across Indonesia through direct partnerships aimed at addressing local skills and human resource development needs.
Education Malaysia Indonesia (EMI) director Dr Hasnul Faizal Hussein Amri said the initiative, introduced this year, would link Indonesian provincial governments with Malaysian universities based on their areas of expertise.
He said two programmes are currently being developed, including one with the Central Java provincial government and another involving a province in Sumatra.
The initiative gained momentum following the Malaysia Higher Education Seminar 2026 in Jakarta in July, which brought together representatives from liaison offices across Indonesia’s 33 provinces.
Hasnul Faizal said the cooperation would go beyond student recruitment to include short courses, credential-based programmes, as well as reskilling and upskilling initiatives to improve employment opportunities and support local economic development.
EMI is also exploring potential co-funding arrangements, although none have been implemented so far.
He said about 11,450 Indonesian students are currently studying in Malaysia, while Indonesia was Malaysia’s second-largest source of international students in 2025, with 12,961 enrolled at public and private higher education institutions.
Indonesia also recorded the highest number of international collaborations involving Malaysian public universities, with 1,733 out of 5,113 collaborations as of December 2025.
-BERNAMA
