The same article said:
“We will find out what it takes for them to consider going back home, and at the same time create more business opportunities and pay them wages that are more aligned with global wages,” he said.Allow me to highlight one interesting point about this report.
Companies have complained about the lack of skilled labour in Malaysia and economists have cited this problem as a hindrance in the country’s ability to attract more high-technology industries. About 80 per cent of the country’s workforce only has secondary school education.
About 700,000 Malaysians are currently living abroad, with half of them in Singapore, while the rest can be found mostly in Australia, Britain and the United States.
An Australian immigration agency in Perth with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor has reportedly said that the number of Malaysians enquiring about moving to Australia had spiked by 80 per cent since 2008.
When the report was first released, this was what was posted in the report (and carried by Malaysia Today HERE):
BRUSSELS, Oct 4 — Malaysia’s Talent Corporation will start its operations in January, marking the start of a concerted effort to woo home Malaysian professionals abroad, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.At 1.38p.m., the report was updated and this is what can be seen:
He said the corporation would engage these professionals abroad in a comprehensive manner, seeking them out and addressing their concerns about the prospects of returning to Malaysia.
BRUSSELS, Oct 4 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today that Malaysia’s Talent Corporation will be launched in January to arrest the country’s growing brain drain problem.
The exodus of local talent to more developed countries has threatened his vision of transforming Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020.
“Previously, we waited for them to get back to us but this time we will seek them out,” Najib told reporters here on last night.
“We will find out what it takes for them to consider going back home, and at the same time create more business opportunities and pay them wages that are more aligned with global wages,” he said.
These two versions and the contents therein raise a few questions.
Version 1.
1. Version 1 that came out in the morning was more congenial to those professionals residing abroad.
2. It tells us that money will be spent in establishing this Talent Corporation to arrest the brain drain.
* Whose money? Why should it be spent in the first place?
* Why can't all that moolah be used to revamp the education system and to train the home grown talent that we have?
*Isn't it ridiculous that VERY LITTLE is being done to STOP the brain drain FROM our country and instead, go out to attract the very same people who left the country in the first place????
WHERE IS THE LOGIC?
* Honestly, I do not see the rationale at all!!!
*It is such a bad joke that I cannot laugh at this. I am NOT amused at all.
*Why is it that each time there is a problem, some big corporation must be set up, $ spent in the process and VERY LITTLE heard about the blue print or the leadership of such corporations? Worse still, do we hear reports about the results of such corporations/task force - if any?
Version 2.
The PM said "the exodus of local talent to more developed countries has threatened his vision of transforming Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020."
So, does this imply that if his vision fails, it is BECAUSE OF THE BRAIN DRAIN???
Why was the report changed???? And why was it changed this way???
Again, where is the logic?
Where is the rationale?
How can such statements be made?
There is so much talent at home but do we see the authorities really GROWING the talent? Are scholarships being offered to these talented ones? Are opportunities being given to the talented ones?
There is no need to set up corporations, spend $$, give speeches overseas just to attract talent to come back. Could it be an unconscious response to the recent report in The New York Times HERE by Lisa Gooch about how the loss of young talent has thwarted Malaysia's growth ? (Click here to read more)
So what the blazes are they doing???I am so enraged. Yeah right. Spend millions and achieve nothing.
All it takes is to listen to one's conscience. Why are people leaving in droves? The TMI article said that "an Australian immigration agency in Perth with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Selangor has reportedly said that the number of Malaysians enquiring about moving to Australia had spiked by 80 per cent since 2008."
Eighty per cent??? Holy smoke!! That is a lot.
At the point of writing, one of my old friends Charles Low just left Penang for Adelaide. The whole family got their Australian PR and he has started a new job in Adelaide and the rest of the family will be leaving for Adelaide in November!
Now, I only have a few friends left in Penang. And of the lot, only ONE family is not leaving - the rest are in the process of applying as well. I am not migrating - which is why I am still blogging with the hope that there can be a better tomorrow. At the rate things are moving, can there really be a better tomorrow?????????
Why can't the government ADDRESS PROBLEMS that we are facing now - such as corruption, racism, poor education system, lack of accountability etc etc?
That way, citizens will not leave the country!!! Neighbouring countries cannot lure our star students to their top universities and offer them scholarships and permanent residence!!!
Why can't the government do that??? Why must they always spend more $???
Our PM has said that they hope to create more business opportunities and pay them wages that are more aligned with global wages.
No matter how juicy the terms, if others know that there IS a brain drain in our country, FDIs would not come in. Then there is no job growth - perhaps only in the civil service or when corporations are set up to 'deal' with problems. They fail to understand that the nation's wealth is THE BRAINS of the country which are so priceless and must be developed. So are they on the right track? Or are we spitting at God's gift to Malaysia by not giving the young more if not equal opprotunities?
How are they going to create more business opportunities? Spend more money to set up a task force to do that? Golly!!!
Pay them more wages? Pay who? The consultants or the people they want to attract?
Why not increase efficiency, cut down on spending, make the country a stable one where leaders do not contradict each other and where double standards do not exist? Why not ensure press freedom? Ensure political and religious freedom and a fair and just judicial system - then people will return in droves when they know their tax $ is being put to good use.
Then people will not leave. Instead, we will have people QUEUEING up to apply for Malaysian PR!!
If a country is politically unstable, it shatters business confidence and will lose international competitiveness. Labour demand will be low. So, how can they pay high wages if this situation prevails? They don't need rocket science knowledge to realize this, do they?
No matter how many corporations they establish, PEOPLE WILL NOT WANT TO INVEST!
Can't they get it into their thick heads? Can they for once in their life, stop living in their fairy tale kingdom and come down to earth and see the situation for what it is today?
So tell me, where is the logic in this reversal?
Who are they trying to kid? Kiddies or what? We were not born YESTERDAY!!!
If you have time, please read my other post called My Sons, Please Look for Greener Pastures.
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If you are a Malaysian working or living overseas, would you return to Malaysia? Please leave a comment to express your views. Thanks.
Anonymous The many reasons on why people left Malaysian shores in droves has been mentioned in your article.
But it cannot be addressed piecemeal, as all are complexed and interwined. To attract the best brains,you have to open up all sectors, education, public service, civil ,armed forces, etc. We cannot deal with one sector, without the other, cos it serves no purpose. If we have the best brains in education, but all other sectors and opportunities are still not available, we are then back to square one.Do you think the best brain, being placed in civil or public services, yet have to take orders from some "dungus" would work?
Political stability is another factor that weighs heavily, will we be rule and guided by our present constitution or could there be a change to another form of rule in the future?
To prevent further brain drain,needs political will of the highest order. Do we presently have that political will?
So long as meritocracy and equal opportunities are not the norm, then I think, those financially able and not so able too would tend to seek greener pastures, most for the sake of their children, and many would make that sacrifice.
Are we ready to dismantle every brick and every foundation and rebuild?
Come 2020, maybe our net export "maids" in Malaysia?