JEDDAH, 11 October 2004 — One of Malaysia’s leading universities, Multimedia University (MMU), is to open an office in Jeddah, becoming the first institution of that country to do so.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the purpose, titled Student Recruitment Agreement, was signed with Qawafil Al-Amal for Development (QAA), a Saudi private company, at the Malaysian consulate general here on Saturday. It was signed by Professor Ghauth Jasmon, president of MMU, and Muhammad Al-Amoudi, owner and general manager of QAA. Consul General Zulkifli Yaacob was present on the occasion.
“We hope Saudi Arabia will recognize more Malaysian universities,” the consul general told Arab News. He said that nine universities, of which four are private, are recognized by the Kingdom. MMU is among the four.
He said the opening of an MMU office in Jeddah would facilitate information, procedural, admission and other relevant aspects and also encourage more Saudi students to go for study in Malaysia.
“There has been a steady increase in inquiries from Saudi students,” said Muhammad Radhi ibn Hamzah, education consul. “Right now there are about 2,000 students from Saudi Arabia pursuing various fields of study in Malaysia. This number is expected to increase significantly with the opening of the MMU office here and the cooperation of QAA,” he added.
The agreement says at the outset that MMU has been entrusted by the Malaysian government with the responsibility of providing students with education, and training them in various academic fields in multimedia.
It goes on to state that QAA is interested in marketing MMU’s education programs and recruiting students for such programs, and QAA “intends to introduce, promote, and market undergraduate and postgraduate degree programs available at MMU.”
According to the terms of the agreement, QAA will act as the “non-transferable and non-exclusive student recruitment agent of MMU for the marketing” of the university’s academic programs and recruiting students for such programs in Saudi Arabia. It will also “recruit qualified students in Iran” and “refer them” to MMU. It will also hold meetings and seminars to provide guidance and assistance to students.
