The Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development, Dr Ali Haider Ahmed has said that the government will make arrangements to ensure that Maldivian students studying in Malaysia do not have to bear the burden of a new tax in Malaysia.
Malaysia will charge a six percent service tax on private education services for international students starting 1 July. The new tax applies to private preschools, schools, colleges, universities, and language centres serving non‑Malaysian students.
Minister Dr Haider said the Malaysian government had given just a week between the announcement and implementation of the new tax, adding the Malaysian government has not officially intimated the decision thus far.
Due to the rather short notice, the government has had no time to take any proactive action to hold discussions with Malaysian counterparts. However, the government is now pursuing the matter, the Minister said, acknowledging the considerable Maldivian student population in Malaysia.
The Minister assured that the government will do everything possible to avoid this becoming a burden on both government sponsored and private students studying in Malaysia.
The tax is part of Malaysia’s revised Sales and Service Tax (SST) rules. Private institutions charging over USD 14,000 per year in tuition must register for the tax. Higher education institutions and language centres must register regardless of turnover if they teach international students. Malaysian students will be exempt.