This is Hoe Yen Yong’s last semester at SIUC. As a finance major from Malaysia, Yong once had hopes of returning to his country and finding a job.

But now, the fear of not landing a job in his country is his constant companion.

Yong watches the news, surfs the Internet and scans Malaysian newspapers daily, looking for signs of improvement in his country’s economy. The once rock-steady Asian stock market has plunged drastically in recent weeks, and it is taking Malaysia along for the ride.

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Although Malaysia’s economic decline is not as drastic as the financial free-fall the country experienced nearly a decade ago, the sudden change is very unsettling. Last week, the Malaysian market index fell to 3.85 percent, and its currency dropped to a historic low of 4.34 ringgit to the dollar a fall of more than 40 percent.

Before the slide, Malaysia already had warned that it would expel as many as half of its 1.8 million foreign workers to safeguard jobs for its citizens.

Yong fears his government’s effort to save jobs for him, and his compatriots may be in vain.

One of my friends from Malaysia graduated from SIUC last year and they still have not found a job, and it’s because of the economy, he said. I feel really scared about the economy because I think the exchange rates will go up. It’s still very unstable.

Some of my friends who want to graduate and find a job [in Malaysia] are upset.

About 1,200 Malaysian SIUC alumni have returned to their country to work over the years, and this is a testament to SIUC’s strong relationship with the country. SIUC has trained more than 600 of Malaysia’s military personnel on the Carbondale campus. A little more than a year ago, SIUC administrators announced plans to open a satellite campus in Malaysia. The proposed campus at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, would share the same city of the world’s tallest building.

And according to Malaysian student Wan Kamal Wan Napi, the building stands as an example of his country’s calm before the storm.

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Before our country was spending, spending, spending, and trying to compete heavily with other nations, said. We were concerned about building the tallest building in the world, now our sugar is being restricted and protected to help the country cut back on costs. Our currency is too low, and we worry.

But the Malaysian ringgit rose on Wednesday, signaling the hope of imminent economic relief. However, Malaysian government-sponsored international students will need more reassurance.

Those students, a significant portion of the 3,000 Malaysian citizens studying abroad, are the students who have the most reason to worry. Wan Napi, president of SIUC’s International Student Council, said the Malaysian government could ask those students to return to the country. The absence of tuition expenses would lessen the government’s economic burden.

As far was Wan Napi knows, none of SIUC’s Malaysian students or other Asian students have had to return, unlike the plight facing many of his friends at other universities.

It affects a lot of students, he said. If you’re a freshman, the government may call you back before you finish your first year. If you’re a senior, you may have to go home before finishing your studies.

So unlike one person who evaded that fate, Malaysian students wanting to study at SIUC may have to wait for a better economic forecast.

There is one new Malaysian student here this semester, and I asked their parents how they were able to send them here, Wan Napi said. They said they had exchanged their Malaysian currency about two years ago, and that’s how they could afford it.

A senior in hotel, travel and restaurant administration from Malaysia, who asked The Daily Egyptian to not use her first name, says one of her friends was not as fortunate.

One of my friends is going back because they can’t pay their tuition, Chang said. Her parents have three kids.’

Carla Coppi, director of International Programs and Services, said the expense of international students’ SIUC tuitions may force many Asian students to seek assistance.

We can provide comfort for these students, whether it’s just a comforting ear to listen or we can offer them advice it’s part of our duty with U.S. immigration, she said. We can help them find on-campus employment, and while many on-campus jobs may be minimum wage, the money students get from those jobs can make the difference for a student considering dropping out because of tuition problems. On-campus employment can be a godsend.

Coppi says things could be worse for these students.

Fortunately we have a payment plan here at SIUC so that their parents don’t have to worry about sending us a huge bank draft at the beginning of the semester, she said. That’s really great, and I think that should help these students a lot.

Whether or not help arrives, Wan Napi worries about the Malaysian economy, but he is doing his best to have a positive outlook.

Everyday I’m looking to CNN as the news breaks. We know we are here. We can’t do anything, but we try to analyze what’s going on. But I think it’s only temporary. In another two or three years it will be OK. We haven’t gone through a depression yet. It’s a lesson. They should learn from this and be optimistic.