Financial Times – August 7, 2024
The number of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia has nearly doubled over the past three years, driven by a surge in students and investors, according to government officials, scholars, schools, business associations, and community organizations.
The University of Malaya’s Institute of China Studies, led by Director Ngeow Chow-Bing, estimates that the Chinese population in Malaysia may now be as high as 150,000 to 200,000, compared to a conservative estimate of around 82,000 in 2022. This exponential growth is largely attributed to the increasing number of students and investors seeking new opportunities abroad.
The economic slowdown in China and the stricter attitude of authorities towards the business community are prompting more citizens to seek a new life overseas. Wealthy Chinese citizens, who are able to obtain citizenship in countries like Singapore and Malta through investment, are also driving this trend. The Chinese are also one of the largest illegal immigrant groups attempting to enter the United States from Latin America.
Malaysia’s situation is somewhat unique. The Chinese have lived in Malaysia for many centuries, accounting for about 23% of the country’s 34 million population. The newcomers are mainly middle-class families who find moving to Southeast Asia more affordable, as well as students seeking to avoid the anti-Chinese sentiment in the West. This has made the Chinese the largest source of foreign students and long-term residents in Malaysia.
The demand for education in Malaysia has surged, with universities and international schools reporting a significant increase in applications. According to the Ministry of Education, higher education institutions in the country enrolled 44,043 Chinese students last year, a 35% increase from 2021. A study by The Financial Times indicates that the number of Chinese students in international schools in Malaysia has more than doubled from 2021 to 2023.
Currently, over 56,000 Chinese immigrants hold long-term residence visas under the Malaysia My Second Home program, more than double the number from last year. Chinese investors are also contributing to the growing number of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia. A Chinese trade official estimates that there are approximately 45,000 Chinese entrepreneurs, managers, and employees in Malaysia, up from around 10,000 in 2021.
The weekly influx of new people is unstoppable, said a representative of the China Entrepreneurs Association in Malaysia. The association highlighted that some electronics and electric vehicle industry suppliers are seeking to increase their production capacity outside of China to avoid U.S. tariffs. Another official noted that there has been a significant increase in entrepreneurs growing durian for export to China.
Many Chinese students are attracted to Malaysia by the lower tuition fees and less intense competition in university entrance exams. My high school scores are average. I might only be able to enter an ordinary university, and it would cost more, said a student at the National University of Malaysia, who requested that his surname be omitted from the report.
The increase in the number of Chinese students in secondary schools is even more pronounced, with 15 international schools reporting that Chinese students account for between 10% and 30% of their student body, totaling 2,500 students, almost triple the number from 2021. An official from a Chinese community association in Malaysia said that with over 250 international schools in the country, the total number of Chinese students may be far higher than the sample size suggests.
The growing number of Chinese immigrants in Malaysia is similar to the trend observed in Thailand earlier. Sivarin Lertpusit, from Thammasat University in Bangkok, said that the number of new Chinese immigrants in Thailand is rapidly increasing, reaching 110,000 to 130,000 in 2022, most of whom are entrepreneurs, employees, students, and their families, as well as lifestyle migrants.
However, this trend may have a greater impact in Malaysia, as the country has a population only half the size of Thailand and is more sensitive to racial issues. Unlike in Thailand, where the Chinese have not been assimilated, the majority Muslim Malays do not want to see an increase in the influence of Chinese residents.
The trend of Chinese students flowing into Malaysia is expected to continue. According to Education Malaysia Global Services, which promotes overseas recruitment for Malaysian universities, the number of Chinese students applying for Malaysian universities in the first five months of 2024 increased by 25% year-on-year.
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