This Indonesian chose to study in Malaysia over the US

Born and raised in the capital of Indonesia, Selly Gouw yearned to see the world. To her, an academic journey  where she could practise her English and learn more about the world was the dream.  

At 18 years old, she believed she could achieve all that and more through an American Degree Transfer Programme in a Malaysian university. She had her eyes set on the neighbouring country as others in her life have been there, done that and came home with good review.

Her older brother was pursuing his higher education at Monash University Malaysia at the time as well. No visas were needed to visit too, so it made for a sensible option. 

Surveying the American Degree Transfer Programmes available in the country, Gouw ultimately landed on INTI International University in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. She admits it was an interesting choice, considering the more “rural” nature of the campus. But it was chosen on purpose. Being from the hyper-urban Jakarta, she wanted to experience a quieter environment.

Long story short, she disliked it — but at least she gave it a go.  

But as two years came and went, Gouw decided not to transfer to the US like she originally planned to. Instead, she decided to head to INTI International College in Subang, an hour away from Nilai. Here, she obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Communication through a programme in collaboration with Southern New Hampshire University. 

But why did she stay and study in Malaysia?  

Gouw and her friends in Malaysia. Source: Selly Gouw

Dreams versus reality

Compared to the US, Malaysia seems an unlikely choice for an Indonesia, at least at first.

It’s one thing to study abroad. It’s another to choose a place where people from your home country are often stereotyped as domestic helpers who have been reported to be mistreated and abused. 

And as a child, Gouw did have plans to go to America.

Exposed to Western media from young, Gouw had fantasised a future in the US where her favourite idols such as Demi Lovato hail from.  

“It was all in my head, but reality and what’s in your head sometimes don’t synchronise,” she says.

“We all have dreams, right? As children, we want to become this, become that, and we think we can do this and that. But when we see the reality of it, do we always want to follow through? Maybe not necessarily.”  

The reality was that moving is difficult, not just logistically but mentally.

This was especially true for Gouw, who took a long time to find belonging in Malaysia. In an effort to blend in, she ended up feeling more lost and isolated.  

“Especially in INTI Nilai, with new surroundings that were quite rural,” she recalls. “It was like quite a shock to me as well. I tried fitting in but I was not very content with myself.”

Assimilation in Malaysia, which at least shared cultural similarities with her home country, was already so hard. Having to start all over again in the US sounded incredibly taxing.  

So, Gouw made the decision to transfer to INTI’s Subang campus instead. Here, she felt happier than ever. 

“Maybe I knew more about myself, or maybe it was just more of a city life,” she laughs.  

By then, Gouw realised that what she sought wasn’t just attainable in the US. The Malaysian experience gave her the international exposure she sought at a fraction of the cost, while staying much closer to home.  

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Weigh your options properly

If affordability and familiarity is what matters, though, why not study locally? To that, Gouw believes that studying abroad was still an immensely impactful opportunity for her.  

“I lived in Malaysia for roughly like three to four years, and it made me realise a lot of things that are more important to me as well,” Gouw said. “Being far away from home, like living alone and everything, it made me grow up.” 

For those who want to undergo a transfer programme to the US, Gouw is a proponent for it.  

“Of course, there are a lot of top unis in the US and everything. And if you want to pursue your education with concrete plans in mind, I think yes, go and chase that dream,” she says.  

But if you’re more like Gouw, who had big dreams but just not concrete ones at the time, it might be worth considering your options again and thinking twice. 

Gouw speaking on a Chinese programme. Source: Selly Gouw

Studying abroad, connecting to roots  

“They speak everything in one sentence. Like a mix of a lot of languages in the same sentence,” Gouw says when asked about culture shocks in Malaysia.  

As she is ethnically Chinese, Gouw would also often be spoken to in Mandarin, which is humorous in hindsight but stressful at the time. In Indonesia, most ethnic Chinese citizens do not speak Mandarin. Meanwhile, the Chinese diaspora in Malaysia often speak Mandarin and other Chinese dialects.  

Experiencing this culture in Malaysia helped her connect to her roots. Today, Gouw creates content online, specialising in educational information about the Tionghua (Chinese-Indonesian) culture in Indonesia. Gouw has even picked up Mandarin and spoke it in a Chinese television programme.