He is one of a number of Iranians who are flocking to Malaysia

Tag : Paper Flocking

Iranians seeking life abroad look east to Malaysia
By Aresu Eqbali

Many Iranian students as well as businessmen looking to Malaysia astheir destination of choice these days

IRANIAN computer specialist Sina Rahati left his home country forKuala Lumpur three years ago and says he misses neither Tehranspolluted streets nor the bureaucracy needed to set up a newbusiness.

The one thing Rahati really does miss, though, is his favouritebreakfast of Kaleh Pacheh - a fatty traditional Iranian dish madefrom sheeps head and trotters that most outsiders find utterlyinedible. He is one of a number of Iranians who are flocking toMalaysia, attracted by a fellow Islamic country with a relativelylow cost of living, instead of pursuing their dreams in traditionalexile hubs such as Canada or Sweden.

Wherever they go, the flight of educated Iranians in search of workand study is part of an ongoing brain drain which is depriving thecountry of some of its most talented young people. Rahati, 26, wholaunched an e-commerce company in Tehran, moved to Malaysia afterbecoming frustrated with stressful relations with governmentorganisations that do not welcome a modern business, he said.

I travelled to a few countries and found Malaysia to be a nice andaffordable place to live and study, said Rahati, who is in KualaLumpur to pursue a masters degree. Iran has a large youthpopulation, and has taken a series of measures, such as increasingthe number of places in domestic universities, in a bid to reducethe emigration trend. However unofficial reports indicate thatseveral hundred thousand undergraduates and graduates are leavingthe country each year.

The upward direction of this trend has not changed, but thedestinations have. Receiving souvenirs from cousins studying inOntario or Gothenburg was common in the 1980s and 1990s, but manyIranian families are now receiving gifts from Kuala Lumpur.Malaysias affordability and high standard of living have seenIranians - the middle-class in particular - turn their backs on theWest and head East instead.

As a student you get a wide range of free or cheap services inMalaysia at a relatively excellent level for Asia, said PooriaAsteraky, whose firm helps Iranians wanting to study in Malaysia.Soaring demand on his introductory iranmalaysia.com website hascreated a busy office in northern Tehran providing a full packageof services for those keen to study in Malaysia.

In 2003 there were maybe 400 Iranians in Malaysia, but today Isuppose they would be between 15,000 and 20,000, said Asteraky,who now lives in Malaysia. Officials put the number of Iranianstudents in Malaysia at between 3,000 and 4,000 today, saying thefigure was only 900 in 2006. After the 9/11 attacks, people fromthe Middle East feel more secure in Muslim countries, saidAsteraky.

They (Malaysians) do not look at you as an alien and they wouldeven give you some privileges because you are a foreigner, hesaid. Visa controls at Western airports can be unnerving forIranians these days, whether they involve fingerprinting or intensequestioning, but Iranians visiting loved ones in Malaysia for fewerthan 15 days do not need a visa.

Easy visa, high educational standards, freedom, low cost of livingand great transportation facilities are among Malaysiasattractions for Iranian students, said Adnan Abas, counsellor atthe Malaysian embassy in Tehran. Today on the other side of theworld there is Islamophobia, Abas said, adding that in contrast,the number of visas we issue is increasing. The extremely fiercecompetition for places at Irans best universities is also amotivating factor.

Admission to universities has become tougher because of a lack ofplaces and also the political-moral qualification tests you takebefore they let you in, said Maryam, 27, a journalist whose paperwas closed by the authorities. Even though it will not be cheaperthan in Iran, I wont have to work in Malaysia to pay for mystudies, as I do in Tehran. And Ill also get a degree thats validinternationally, she said. There will be more time for study andless for stress, Maryam added.

As Irans nuclear standoff with the West escalates, Tehran hassought closer economic ties with Asia in a bid to bypass Westernsanctions over its controversial atomic activities. One such banapplies to money transfers, and the standoff means that Iraniansstudying in Malaysia are also affected as families now have to payextra fees to send even small amounts to their children.

These sanctions are international and have made transfercommissions so high. And since 2007 Iran has gone under high riskcountries for an anti-money laundering act in Malaysia, Asterakysaid. Maryam she had to pay 100 dollars to an Iranian bank so shecould send 90 dollars to file three applications for universitiesin Malaysia. Im taking all my money with me because of thetransfer problem, she said as she prepared to leave Tehran forKuala Lumpur to study for a masters degree in journalism. afp
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