The ringgit has fallen to its lowest level against the US dollar since August 2009, a weakening of almost 10 per cent in the last six months. This is amid concerns over the impact of low oil prices on Malaysia’s economy, and the timing of US interest rate hikes. Malaysia, which is a net exporter of crude oil and petroleum, is seen as the biggest loser in Asean of lower oil prices. According to RHB Research Institute in a recent report “Being a net oil and gas exporter, it will cause a sharp slowdown in oil and gas investments and affect the Government’s ability to spend as it struggles to manage its fiscal deficit on account of falling oil revenue”.

In the last six months, the ringgit had also weakened against other regional currencies, including the Singapore dollar, against which it fell 3.63% to 2.6493. The ringgit fell 0.91% against the South Korean won to 0.3184; and 2.9% against the Indonesian rupiah to 0.02801.Nevertheless, the ringgit had appreciated against the British pound, euro, Australian dollar and Japanese yen over the last six months. (http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/01/06/Ringgit-continues-to-sl...)

Parents planning to send their children to study overseas, particularly the United States, are beginning to feel the pinch, with the ringgit continuing its slide against the greenback. Many are reconsidering their options by looking at other destinations for their children’s higher education study. Some are also planning to shorten the study period of their children to cope with the extra costs incurred, and some are thinking of asking their children to take up part time jobs to help finance their education. (http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2015/01/06/Weakening-ringgit-force...)

British Council commentary:

Recent 2013/14 HESA statistics suggest strong growth in HE student enrolments from Malaysia to the UK. For first year student enrolment alone, the numbers have increased from 8,045 (2012/13) to 9,070 (2013/14), suggesting a 13% of increment, comparing to 3% for the previous year. In fact, Malaysia has the largest percentage increase among the non-EU countries. However, the recent sharp currency depreciation against US dollar and the upcoming introduction of a goods & services tax (GST) in April 2015 are widely expected to affect 2015 gross domestic product (GDP) growth in Malaysia. With a question mark hovering over Malaysia’s economy in 2015, it is still too early to tell whether the currency depreciation could have an adverse effect on student demand in 2015. In fact, with the British pound appreciating far less than the dollar as indicated by the article, this could possibly lead to the increase of UK market share, and actually lead to a further increase in enrolments from Malaysia, as these students shift from the more costly US to more reasonably priced options in the UK.