JEDDAH — As more Saudi students head to Malaysia for higher studies, a group of Saudis, with the support of Saudi Ambassador Mohamed Rida Abul Hamayel, has founded a Saudi student organization in Kuala Lumpur.
“The club will allow students to network with their colleagues and have different social activities,” said Abdullah Al-Ghamdi, president of the club.
There are currently around 1,500 Saudi students, both male and female, pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies in Malaysia and all of them are members of the club, which was formally launched on Feb. 1.
Some 700 of these students are under the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques Scholarship program. Others are studying on their own expense or on scholarships from different organizations.
“Membership is now open for all,” Fahd Alaieri, head of the media committee at the Saudi Cultural Club of Malaysia. “We will have a membership system in the future.”
Membership fee is $100. The money is used to offer students preparatory courses, according to Al-Ghamdi. “This fee is to show that students are really serious and do want to join the club to benefit and make others benefit,” he said.
The club will organize different activities, including cultural, social and sport, in addition to some courses that could assist students in their studies.
“Most students ask for English-language courses; this is the medium of education in Malaysia. Most of these requests come from women students,” Alaieri said.
Some of the activities for women include cooking courses, cosmetics and arts programs. They also have computing courses.
“We have plans to offer academic courses that would improve the students’ academic skills. Since the club is new, we want to see the aspirations of the students before offering them what they need.”
Besides Ambassador Abul Hamayel and Al-Ghamdi, founders of the organization include Hani Al-Melhem, professor at King Faisal University; Tarek Al-Bahlal, a student sent on a scholarship by the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice; Ibrahim Al-Turki, a postgraduate student; and Abdulaziz Al-Akeel, a Ph.D. student.
The Ministry of Higher Education issued general guidelines for the club and the administration is responsible for deciding the activities.
Presently, only students living in the Malaysian capital will be able to participate in the club.
The Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau of Australia has been running the affairs of Saudi students in Malaysia until now. There will soon be a Saudi bureau in Malaysia led by Musaed Al-Jarrah, who was appointed as the Kingdom’s new cultural attaché in Malaysia.
Whether there was a Saudi cultural bureau or not, monthly allowance for students will be paid to them in Australian dollars.
“When they decided to establish a bureau here, they wanted to exchange the allowance from the Saudi riyal to the US dollar and then to the Malaysian ringgit which would cause a 32 percent decrease in value. However, the Ministry of Higher Education has decided to continue the payment of allowances in Australian dollars,” Alaieri said.
