not relevant, because it is the same whatever you do. An employer doesn't really care which system you follow (obviously the distinction between life and non-life matters), unless there is a geographic/regulatory reason (FIA/FFA in the UK, FIAA in Australia, FSA/FCAS in the US - but there are exceptions where they don't really care about this even).

anyway, other than the FIA right now, most actuarial students have to go through an external system for the hardest few exams. this would also normally be the case for the FIA since very few people would do that much postgraduate study leading to all but the last exam being exempted.

it's a commonly spread idea that passing external exams is favourable compared to exemptions. i don't think it's relevant because most people would be surrounded by others who went through the same system anyway - Malaysia (and Singapore) would be unique because you get students who return from all over, and so there is a mixture of systems used. in that case, it would be hard to compare them but i believe Malaysian employers haven't really bothered and just take the number of exams at face value (or the specific subjects passed) - they do have pay raise scales though. anyway, exemptions are usually only for the preliminary and/or associate level exams (other than FIA), and they can be quite inflexible.

the advantage of exemptions is obviously you don't need to try to fit an external exam in with your uni schedule (although this is not really an 'advantage' anymore because when you work you'll realise it's hard to also study), and your teachers are supposed to teach you the right stuff that you need to pass the exam set by them. the advantage of external exams is that they sometimes can be easier (by pass rates and also by actual difficulty, based on what others have told me) and they are often cheaper (don't need to pay 5 figures for a uni course, if you need exemptions or need to resit). again, this only applies to the lower level exams, because many of the last few exams are just bloody hard no matter what they are and have no exemptions.