Malaysia will thrive as an?international education hub if?it does?not repeat the mistakes of?its principal competitors, a?Kuala Lumpur forum has heard.

International education veteran Michael Fay said Malaysia must ¡°learn the lessons currently being played out in?Australia, Canada, the Netherlands and the?UK¡±, and avoid recruiting overseas students in?unsustainable numbers.

¡°Over-commercialisation of international education eventually ends in tears,¡± Mr?Fay told the THE?Campus Live SE?Asia event. ¡°If you eat the golden goose, there will be no more golden eggs.¡±

Malaysia, which has long harboured ambitions to be a major player in international education, is edging closer to its longstanding target of?250,000 foreign enrolments. It has been assisted by?migration crackdowns in the major anglophone destinations and a creeping desire among Chinese students to?keep close to?home.

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Mr Fay has championed Asian-Australian educational links as a language college founder, business consultant and ¨C since last November ¨C special adviser to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) University Network. The educational allure of Malaysia can only increase, he predicted.

¡°It¡¯s at the crossroads of South-east Asia. It has a commitment to quality. It has many existing partnerships with universities from all over the world. It¡¯s multicultural, it¡¯s safe, it¡¯s secure and it¡¯s value for money. The world is already here,¡± he said.

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Mr Fay said cultural reverence for education, rooted in ¡°Confucian, Hindu and Islamic values¡±, was another strength of Malaysia and the region more broadly. So was ¡°the tradition of community engagement¡±, particularly among higher education institutions.

These attributes would be needed in the struggle against the ¡°key¡± challenge confronting the region, he warned. He told the forum, hosted by oil industry-linked Universiti Teknologi Petronas, that South-east Asia was faltering in the drive to reduce carbon emissions.

Fossil fuel availability was hampering progress, he said. ¡°Entrenched interests are reluctant to change.¡± Cash-strapped Asean member Laos, where about three-quarters of energy comes from hydro power, had proven that an ¡°alternative pathway¡± was possible.

¡°Respect for science and evidence-based conclusions in relation to climate change requires all universities to speak up,¡± he?warned.

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john.ross@timeshighereducation.com