Purpose – With the recognition of the importance of education in economy different countries are responding with changes within their education systems. Education is recognized as a foundation to the continued growth of a country but with the globalization of business, is education becoming a commodity?Objective - This paper examines international students’ motivation for studying in Malaysia. The second objective is to analyze educational policies and their implementation within Malaysia.Design/methodology/approach –The primary data was collected through survey questionnaire and convenience sampling was used. The reliability and validity of the questionnaire was checked and then descriptive statistics and T-test was used to analyze the results.Findings – This paper finds that education in the Malaysia has become a commercial product within the international arena.Research limitations – The sampling frame for this research was limited to students in two private universities in Malaysia only. It is recommended that future research utilize random sampling methods to ensure the generalizability of results. Future research should also consider a broader demographic profile (not just students of two universities) representing multiple geographical locations in Malaysia given that students motivations are likely to differ across public and private university students.Originality/value – This paper engages in a controversy that questions whether the economic value to a nation of education is found only in the numbers of students or can be enlarged to include the results of the education for the students.