Michael Ryan York, M.HI. was a master’s degree student of International Relations (MHI) of Universtias Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta (UMY) from Australia, and he was the only one graduate achieving cumlaude with GPA 3.93. He could accomplish his master’s degree for one and a half years.
As an international student, he admitted that he confronted various barriers during his study. One of them was dealing with language. He stated that bahasa Indonesia has various diversities like the use of bahasa gaul (colloquial language) not written on Indonesian dictionary. “Even though I have learned bahasa Indonesia, it is not adequate. My friends often used complicated bahasa gaul, and I could not understand,” he told in a interview after graduation ceremony at Sportorium of UMY on Saturday (17/10).
Michael conveyed that he obtained scholarship of Australian government to pursue his master’s degree at UMY. It was Australia Asia Award, scholarship for Australian students who are willing to pursue their study in Asia and vice verse. The scholarship is provided for 400 students each year.
Further, he conveyed that he had a special way to comprehend all the lessons. “I was occasionally lack of understanding of a course. I had to record the lecture so that I could learn it again,” he maintained.
The other barrier was regarding visa extension needing much more money and being complicated. “I had to extend my visa each month and pay 100 dollars. I think all international students in Indonesia have the same thought as me,” he expressed.
Nevertheless, he confessed that he was glad to study in Indonesia, particularly in an Islamic university like UMY. Michael’s reason to study at UMY was that he could recognize Muslim students’ life and habits. “I have distinctive conviction from most of UMY’s students’ faith. I would like to see Muslim students’ life. Besides, I would like to lean Indonesian culture and bahasa gaul. I can also share Australian culture,” he asserted.
He inserted that tuition fee in Indonesia is considered inexpensive and this country is multilateral. He contended that Indonesia is the greatest country having enormous cultural diversity. “I am enthusiastic about Indonesian culture and I am eager to learn it. Indonesian people have to become confident of potential of Indonesia. Indonesia ought to be proud of having 250 million people. In addition, if we would like to sell products in Indonesia, we must understand the Indonesian language. I thought that the language can be an international language,” he argued.
Moreover, his thesis was dealing with an issue in Malacca Strait. He highlighted Indonesia defense policy by President Joko Widodo and the impacts on Indonesian economy. He mentioned that Malacca Strait is a vital international trade route of Indonesia. “It is a very strategic area of information and communication security. Interference in this area may lead to the huge loss of economy and grade among countries as well as international trust to Indonesia,” Michael ended.
