PETALING JAYA: Prof. Wang Ruifang, President of Xiamen University Malaysia, says he would not think top-notched Chinese universities would set up branch campuses in Malaysia.

He said these universities would instead go to other regional countries such as Indonesia and the Philippines.

Prof. Wang told Sin Chew Daily that Xiamen University Malaysia welcomes other Chinese universities to set up campuses in Malaysia.

“However, I don’t think other Chinese universities will come here, but will adopt different approaches such as offering scholarships to get the country’s top students to study at Peking University or Tsinghua University.”

He said Malaysia, with only a population of 32 million, already sees stiff competition among many colleges and universities here, while China’s education ministry may also encourage other universities to set up campuses in Indonesia or the Philippines, as there is already one Chinese university in Malaysia.

As for the University of Tsukuba which has planned to set up a Malaysian campus, Wang said, “We welcome them here because Malaysia indeed needs institutions of higher learning from different countries. We will do different things and will not compete directly.

“We hope they will succeed here, but as for Chinese universities, I personally think it will be very difficult for them.”