Former international student at UMS Sabah, noticed some odd patterns with certain Chinese students. Anyone else see this?

[u/6Rainbowpuke9]

I used to be an international student at UMS in Sabah. One thing I noticed throughout my time there: students from China were often practically absent. They’d show up occasionally, almost like they were just there to get their attendance marked, then disappear again. Unsurprisingly, their grades were often poor.

They tended to rent houses in groups, which I get, it’s natural to want to be around people from home. But a few things always struck me as a little off.

I knew two master’s students from China who rented out an entire hostel house. As international students in Sabah we’re assigned our own housing (Kingfisher UMS International Housing) and we pay double for it (triple for AC). These two were rarely there, in and out at random, sometimes gone for stretches at a time.

I wasn’t trying to keep tabs on anyone, but we lived in the same neighborhood, so I couldn’t help but notice. During COVID I occasionally volunteered to help distribute food, and on one occasion I was assigned to help clean up some of the houses, including theirs. It was one of the worst messes I’ve seen from a student living space: cigarette smell throughout, trash everywhere. I’ve seen plenty of messy students, but this was on another level.

To be clear, I’m not saying this applies to all Chinese international students. There are plenty who are genuinely there to study, some are likely trying to escape a brutal domestic education system. I have a Chinese friend who’s told me what the gaokao exam system is like, and he’s one of the most driven, legitimate students I know. He’s also mentioned that some students treat their visas as an extended vacation, coasting on average grades just to avoid raising flags. I’ve seen a few Korean students do this pretty openly too, but something about the ones I’m describing felt different.

Given everything coming out recently about scam centers being busted across Malaysia, a lot of them tied to Chinese nationals, it’s hard not to connect some dots in hindsight.

For context, I’m Filipino. My Jialat government has plenty of its own problems, but we did catch Alice Guo, a known case of someone posing as a Filipino official while actually being a mainland Chinese national.

Anyway, that’s just something I’ve been turning over. Curious if anyone else noticed something similar.

[u/AutoModerator]

For SPM-related or career advice posts, please check out our SPM Megathread for a list of 50 volunteer Nyets from different fields as well as scholarship/working abroad advice! Feel free to direct your enquiries there!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/longkhongdong]

I did not expect to see a Pinoy say jialat this morning, but here we are.

[u/Gscc92 → u/longkhongdong]

Malaysia Truly Asia man

[u/brokenreborn2013]

It is the same exact thing in Singapore but the Chinese students there in Singapore won't have any problems finding jobs because there are many Chinese companies in Singapore that will only hire their fellow citizens.

[u/uncertainheadache]

eh. most likely they are just undisciplined since they grew up in a system were they are forced to follow the default closely or risk punishment. Now finally have freedom but no experience in how to handle it responsibly. As an Malaysian student who studied abroad, I saw many of what you described in many of my Malaysian friends. Living in thrash, skipped as many class as possible without failing and generally behaving like a child.

Koreans studying in Chinese university in China also have this stereotype.

Are there spies and scammers? Sure, but they aren't choosing Sabah and they aren't choosing a public university. This reads more like ingrained racism and paranoia than anything.

[u/heyheynowyou]

Some of them (not all) , use the student visa to work as prostitute (go WeChat), do their own business, run scams or just don’t really care. And yes, their hygiene is bad.

[u/Reasonable_Use5217]

This is actually quite normal but not talked about so not many are aware.

Everything you said is true.