By LIZ GOOCH | NY Times
Published: October 1, 2010
KUALA LUMPUR — With its dazzling skyscrapers, bright lights and ubiquitous symbols of modernity, Singapore has long worked its magic on Rachel Liew, 20.
Even as a young girl visiting the city-state with her family from her native Malaysia, Singapore’s clean streets, convenient public transportation and modern lifestyles made a lasting impression.
As Ms. Liew grew older, she came to believe that Singapore could also offer a better education than her homeland, and in 2008, she packed her bags and headed south across the border to pursue a degree in mechanical engineering at Nanyang Technological University.
“I might return to Malaysia if I had a really good job offer there, which I think would be unlikely, or if I eventually get married to a Malaysian who wants to live in his hometown,” said Ms. Liew, one of about 700,000 Malaysians living abroad. “But other than that, I think I would probably settle down in Singapore.”
That is exactly the kind of sentiment Malaysia’s policy makers are desperate to change.
Many Asian nations have long been concerned about the outflow of human capital to more developed countries, but here in Malaysia, the need to address the problem has assumed a new urgency in the final decade for reaching its long-established goal of becoming a developed country by 2020.
Companies have long complained about a shortage of skilled labor in Malaysia, and economists say it is severely affecting the country’s ability to attract more high-technology industries. The government is acutely aware of the shortage in skills and the potential hurdle it poses to the country’s 2020 goal.
“We don’t get it right, we are in serious trouble,” the human resources minister, S. Subramaniam, said during an interview.
Studying and working overseas have long been considered attractive options for those Malaysians who can afford to make the move. About half of those living abroad can be found in neighboring Singapore. Australia, Britain and the United States are also popular.
Robert K. Chelliah, who runs an Australian immigration agency in Perth, with offices in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, said by phone that the number of Malaysians contacting his company with inquiries about moving to Australia had soared 80 percent since 2008.
“In the last two to three years, the motivation to acquire Australian permanent residency has sharply increased across all age sectors as well as across racial backgrounds,” he said.
Like Ms Liew, most of the seven people interviewed for this article said that better education, wages and career opportunities could be found abroad, while parents wanted to ensure that their children received an internationally recognized education in English.
Many interviewees, when asked about their concerns about returning to Malaysia, cited racial tensions and the country’s affirmative action policy, which gives special privileges to ethnic Malays, who make up 60 percent of the population. The government has recognized the need to change the policy, which was introduced in the 1970s to improve the economic standing of Malays, who were more highly represented among the nation’s poor than its Chinese and Indian minorities.
Prime Minister Najib Razak has repeatedly emphasized that affirmative action would be made “market-friendly, merit-based, transparent and needs-based” under the country’s latest plan, the New Economic Model, which is designed to steer Malaysia toward its development goals. Ethnic Malays, or bumiputras, still benefit from privileges like discounted housing, and some government contracts are available only to companies they control.
A Malaysian Chinese businessman, who left Malaysia for Canada as a university student in the 1970s and stayed there, said that because of the policy, only a handful of his Malaysian Chinese classmates who also studied abroad had returned to Malaysia. Several other Malay and non-Malay interviewees also described the system as unfair.
Danny Quah, a professor of economics at the London School of Economics and Political Science, says that the brain drain has had a huge effect on the country’s economic and industrial development.
“People have left, growth prospects have dimmed, and then more people continue to leave,” said Mr. Quah, who is also a member of the Malaysian National Economic Advisory Council. “It’s a vicious cycle that the economy has had to confront for the last decade or longer.”
Malaysia’s growth rate dropped to an average of 5.5 percent a year from 2000 to 2008, from an average of about 9 percent a year from 1991 to 1997.
Private investment, meanwhile, has fallen to about 10 percent of gross domestic product in 2008 from more than a third of G.D.P. in 1997, and the World Bank has warned that a lack of human capital is a “critical constraint in Malaysia’s ambition to become a high-income economy.”
Stewart Forbes, executive director of the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said foreign companies faced difficulties finding skilled workers in fields like electronics, the petrochemical industries and engineering. Some companies complain of poor communication and English skills.
“I don’t think it’s yet reached the stage where companies are saying, ‘I cannot do my business here,”’ Mr. Forbes said. “I think it’s true to say, however, that there’s lost investment opportunities here because of the labor situation.”
Mr. Forbes contrasted the skill shortage in Malaysia, where 80 percent of the work force has only a high school education, with a country like Taiwan, which emphasizes the number of holders of graduate degrees available to investors.
Previous government attempts to lure back Malaysian expatriates, namely the Brain Gain Malaysia and Returning Expert programs, have had little success. Despite financial incentives like importing cars tax-free and efforts to ease access to permanent residency for foreign spouses, they have attracted fewer than 3,000 applicants.
The government now plans to enhance and consolidate those programs under a new agency, to be known as the Talent Corp. Its financing will be announced as part of the country’s 2011 budget on Oct 15. It will recommend ways the country’s education and training systems can be overhauled to produce graduates who better fulfill industry needs, especially in sectors like information technology and financial services.
Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister and education minister, is leading a major review of the education system. “There will definitely be a major overhaul of the system,” he said in an interview, adding that the system needed to foster creativity and innovation.
Enhancing the skills of the existing work force, encouraging universities to work more closely with industry and increasing the number of students enrolled in vocational training are also priorities.
Mr. Muhyiddin said that Malaysia needed to record annual economic growth of 6 percent for the next 10 years to achieve its 2020 goal and that a work force with the right skills was a “precondition” for such growth.
Still, enticing Malaysian expatriates home, when salaries there remain lower than abroad, presents a major challenge.
In Malaysia, the average income per capita is currently about $7,000, a figure the government wants to increase to $15,000 by 2020. In Singapore, by contrast, the figure hovers around $37,000, World Bank data show.
Mr. Subramaniam, the human resources minister, says that he expects salaries to rise as more high-technology industries develop and that, in the meantime, improvements in other factors, like work opportunities, may help lure Malaysians home.
“If we give them a good working environment, an area where they can grow, and it’s stimulating and satisfying, they might be willing to take a slight cut in their salary,” he said.
Still, some economists remain skeptical about the government’s initiatives to reverse the diaspora.
Terence Gomez, a professor on the economics faculty of the University of Malaya, said that changing the affirmative action policy remained a highly contentious issue, with the government under pressure from right-leaning groups and members of its own party, the United Malays National Organization, to maintain it.
But he said it was vital that Malaysia become more of a meritocracy if it is to succeed in drawing back the diaspora. For instance, non-Malays need to be assured that they can be appointed to senior civil service positions, and the private sector must be based on transparency and fairness, rather than race, he said.
Otherwise, “professionals won’t come back and work in the public sector, and investors won’t come back and invest in the private sector,” he added.
Mr. Quah of the London School said that it was not affirmative action alone that had driven the brain drain and that higher wages and economic growth, and good schooling opportunities, were vital to enticing expatriates home.
“This is an economically astute middle class, and they will see whether it’s in their interests to return or not,” he said.
Chen May Yee, 39, a Malaysian Chinese journalist who lives in Minneapolis with her American husband and two children, is yet to be convinced that Malaysia can offer the work opportunities and lifestyle she wants for her family. She said she had taken a pay cut each time she had previously moved back to Malaysia after stints in the United States or Singapore — sometimes as much as 50 percent.
“I’d love to move back for family and friends, but I just don’t see how to make it work economically,” she said.
“That is exactly the kind of sentiment Malaysia’s policy makers are desperate to change.”
How true. Umno realised that the loss was neither rapid nor severe enough. The change umno is desperately trying to achieve is to quicken the process so that the whole country is filled with only umnoputras.
///Mr. Muhyiddin said that Malaysia needed to record annual economic growth of 6 percent for the next 10 years to achieve its 2020 goal and that a work force with the right skills was a “precondition” for such growth.///
The growth in GDP even if the 6 percent is achieved would still mean that 60% of the population would still want to pretend to remain in the special position just like in the intensive unit of the hospital, comes 2020. What good is the GDP growth?
Malaysia lives in peace time ever since its existence. With the people divided, no amount of military hardware would be able to defend this land. When war breaks up, Bolehland is finished. As subject of foreign power, unless British comes back to rule them, there will be no special position to talk about. Did the British intend to come back at the time it gave independence to Malaya? Why was the poison planted in the constitution organized by them? That provision which led to NEP subsequently is the disease of the nation. All the problems the nation faces such as the low income trap, corruption and unemployable graduates are just the symptoms. UMNO tried hard to hide or remove the symptoms without the intention of removing the disease. Razak might not have imagined that his NEP would rendered this country in terminal illness. Najib believes that he can ultimately become a citizen of another country if he so chooses, and he would like to remain the sole power in appropriating Petronas funds and feels as if he is the richest man in the world, for as long as he can. He is learning to say the right things but would not do any of them.
///but here in Malaysia, the need to address the problem has assumed a new urgency in the final decade for reaching its long-established goal of becoming a developed country by 2020.///
Why now only take action after all the experts and professionals have left the country?
While UMNO elite were preoccupied with ketuanan and the NEP, a smart LKY quietly turned Malaysia into a “talent bank” for his country. This is the price Malaysia has to pay for keeping a tight grip on the NEP – becoming a charitable donor of talents to other countries.
Mdm Kwa Geok Choo (Mrs Lee Kuan Yew) died today at age 89. RIP.
is the government so blind? try this,,,
1. to-date, 3 mil left thru migration – say each repatriate RM 200k = RM 600 bil gone
2. 3 mil foreign workers (excluding illegals) – say each repatriate RM 2k per year = RM 6 bil per year gone
3. 100k students overseas per year – say each needs RM 50k per year tuition fees (excluding makan & lodging) = RM 5 bil per year gone
these are super conservative figures but does it matter who champions 153 or detention of the seditious? stop telling us about FDI’s or transformation plans. stop telling us to balik tongsan because we will!!! and now we are in DEEP SHIT!!!
‘But other than that, I think I would probably settle down in ????’ – Ms Liew.
Despite earning a so called ‘High Salary’, we were wondering why only staying in a high rise apartment??? Can’t she afford to own a landed property???.. Well!! A high salary isn’t high enough??? Is that what she is proud of? Or was that just an exaggeration?
Subra fellow is living in la la land…
First of all before you waste valuable tax payer’s money running down to Singapore, the US, NZ, Australia and the UK to bring our valuable human capital back…why dont you kick the ass of our civil servants…namely Sidek and co…
Civil servants in this country are the “musuh dalam selimut” the “opposition from within” that scuttle any effort by the Minister, PM etc in bringing back these professionals….
Read the article above properly Subra…some have attempted to come back to the Government and the Universities but have cabut balik…WHY!!!!!!
Why dont you call up the respective Pengarah or VC and if they dont give you proper answers….boot them out first. Yes ..clean up the environment before bringing our talents back.
Turun padang Subra….turun padang…dont kid yourself….no brilliant overseas graduate is going to take orders from a local dummy Pengarah/Dean …that’s the bottom line…stop kidding yourself.
Cintanegara, why don’t you ask the question: during weekends can you just pack and fly to any Asian destinations without asking if you have enough cash? Well, you think those yappies in Singapore are just cage in? please wake up, with their cash and mighty one for that, their holidays are any place they want! Well as for you unless, you do get your privilege share, you can sit only under the rambutan tree! Right Godfather?
waterfrontcoolie, the point here is they can’t afford to buy landed property on their home soil..
Since Malaysia was a former British colony, can we Malaysians who are not happy with Malaysia being declared as Islamic country by Mahathir Mohammad trade places with Pakistanis who migrated to UK and wanted to setup Islamic Sharia law in UK?
British government should consider taking us Malaysians as citizen as unlike the British of Pakistani descent who committed acts of terrorism in Britain, we have no ambition in turning UK into an Islamic country. I’m sure we can contribute a lot to British economy.
What say you PM David Cameron?
Take us non-bumiputera Malaysian as British citizens and send the Pakistanis who are not happy with British’s system of democracy to Malaysia. I am sure they can get along very well with the UMNOputras. :)
I think even if they can’t fix the income problem yet, or the education problem yet, it’s ok.
I think first and foremost, people need to see that it is POSSIBLE for them to MAKE A DIFFERENCE in Malaysia.
If this can happen, more people will be attracted back to Malaysia. This way, those who learned and trained overseas can find reason to return to Malaysia, even with the lower pay, and lower living standards.
When I say make a difference, I mean big changes. Like how the bigger picture works. We need to employ more smart, creative people in high positions in various ministries to see significant change. Or get the higher-ups to mentor the scholarship returnees to think big and creative.
Macro policies in the education sector has been insufficient, and stagnant although various things have been implemented. It just doesn’t cut it. As is obvious from the current education sector situation.
It is obvious dat dis is a f-cuked up nation, heading 2 bankruptcy soon
Dis nation is doomed bcos it does not use its ENTIRE human n intellectual capitals – it ignores most of nonMalays n also Malays who r not UmnoBputras
How can a nation progress when it is piloted by a small % of its population (UmnoBputras n cronies), most of whom r dumbo (rhymes perfectly with Umno)?
Everyday we r immersed in negative things: racist remarks, corruption, murder, sodomy
Dis nation is sinking fast n those who qualify 2 migrate will/must migrate
If ppl think dat PR can do a better job, plz open your eyes n C what’s going on now in PKR n DAP, look at d kind of rubbish whom U think can salvage d nation
Mayb a bit better than UmnoB/BN, but is PR really trustworthy n workable?
sorry cintanegara, in malaysia we can’t even afford to own an apartment as they are marked-up beyond reach of the middle class. the developers need to recover the bumi-discounts and unsold bumi-lots from the non-bumis. malaysian properties are snapped up by the rich as investment.
the reason why singaporeans not buying landed properties is due to lack of supply. it is just a simple matter of supply and demand. LKY’s farsightedness sees the setting up of HDB in 1960 and within 10 years period they solved their housing problem whereas in malaysia squatters settlements are still around even after 53 years.
One man’s meat is another man’s poison. This ”brain drain” may be a big concern to other countries but not to countries like Malaysia. In fact the ultra-Malays are happy because ultimately they will get what they want as aptly put by Kasim Amat : ” I would rather my country not so developed and live with my own people than a highly developed country where I am surrounded by foreigners ”
When Mahathir was PM, he was fully aware of the outflow of human capital and was quick to ‘address’ the problem by launching Project M, making the inflow of human capital 10 X more than the outflow. World leaders can use the Project M formula if their countries are faced with brain-drain problem.
cintanegara,
assamlaksa is right. Singapura’s PAP government is a functioning government. They plan 25 years ahead and walk the plan. Malaysia’s UMNOB-led government plan the walk but never walk the plan. Do you see the difference?
Singapura government never talk about their Constitution. They do their job, solve problems. UMNO-led government, after 53 years, still talking about Constitution. They look backward, creating problems. Do you see the difference now?
While this is a key issue, my contention is that politically speaking, it has limited practical mileaged because its highly complicated. And the way its being discussed, it just does not hit home especially to the Malay community. The implication here is that talented Malaysian, largely non-Malays are needed and that kind of ‘need’ actually create racially tinged fears and insecurities.
I have always contented the issue that the more politically sellable way of putting the issue of brain drain for the Malay community is to point out that the most talented Malays will follow the non-Malays, that the pool is too thin for them to allow it, leaving mediocrity in their own community here who will exploit them or fail the community much their Malay leaders have always failed them in their own interest.
The truth is the most talented knows no bound in the globalised world and you can’t separate one race talent from another. You fail to retain talent of non-Malays, you will fail to retain talent of Malays.
With corrupt, slothful, incompetent, chaotic, mediocre and racist people in charge of the social and economic development for decades….there is very little hope for our country and her ordinary people.
What lah….I can afford a rambutan tree, she can only afford a high rise apartment. I have a better lifestyle because I can smoke my joint under the rambutan tree while she can’t even take chewing gum. And if she thinks she can get a good view, wait till I bring you guys to the top of my rambutan tree – great views too, if you know how to climb.
Starting salary for Australian graduate is at least A$40,000 or RM120,000.00. Toyota Camry automatic is A$28,000 drive away. AirAsia return to KL is less than A$400.00. Even CM of Sarawak continues to invest here and other Western countries. Malaysia is nothing but a place where one gets born but everything else better is found elsewhere.
They may take some time to buy their homes, once purchased they can be rest assured the value would not drop like a 10-ton millstone. They do not need to lament that traveling needs months of waiting. My drift is in their free time, the rest of the world is at their feet; get it? When we have to stay around the rambutan tree. As Fieldman said: the world is flat and ROUND! While we spend time creating sandiwara which benefit no one, the rest of the world has no time for such behaviour. So continue your sweet dream on 2020 under the rambutan tree!!
http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=52457
jib, my boy, why don’t you send this third line of defence to gaza and chase the jews out? Tok Kok only
the passengers of the gravy train can’t even learn to corrupt properly…in order for the choo choo to churn through rich fields, they must steer the train through rich lands, not poor land
dynamic economic activities and hard working and high earning population is where these rent seekers can suck from…
at the moment, they are killing the goose that lay the golden eggs
S’pore for all its riches, pay a lot to the government. They can afford to pay for vechicle COE, ERP, expensive HBD etc because they got a high paying job to worry about and won’t sink into a peasant revolt abyss
Man, rent seekers in Malaysia, can even suck properly…every fisherman can tell you to leave some before to produce more
People who care for the country’s well being & growth are concerned with brain drain. However are our political elites having power to formulate national policies really concerned? The most talented are not voting for them. If our elites have long term national interests at heart, they will not in the first place, play the race/religious card to divide the nation to gain or maintain political power and be corrupt. Their enthusiasm in foreign investments coming in is not as strong as foreign investments divesting and going out because the latter situation enables those connected to power and having political leverage to take over the assets left behind or divested by foreigners! Besides they know that even if they do away with their political trump card of the NEP that facilitates self enrichment, the country will not necessarily retain talent.
This is because the migration of talent will always happen (in this globalised world) when there is a gap between developing countries and the developed countries in terms of economic opportunities (remuneration & working conditions), lifestyles and stability of socio-political systems. Even if Malaysia does away with affirmative policies of NEP (a common grouse of those of us who vote with our feet) there is no assurance that we can narrow the gap in this catch up game with the more developed countries of the West in terms of economic opportunities, lifestyle, freedoms etc that attract our talented young.
By the time we gain a mile, the other places may have gained two miles in what they could offer to the young and talented driven by hedonistic desires for the good life.
There are certain things one can’t change: if you have acquired the taste of fishing in the Canadian wilds how does one do it here in our tropical secondary forest without getting bitten by dengue carrying mosquitoes or centipedes/scorpions? If you have come to like the climate in Perth, how does one change that?
We send our young to these place to study and train; they get the exposure of what these places offer, they compare, and young being young, seeing a whole life ahead, they prefer not to come back.
So by way of political choice on the part of our political elites, why choose an uncertain option like trying to do way with their political leverage of NEP to stem brain train and lose their known political card to self enrich and not quite sure that by doing so it could have significant results of stopping the brain drain?
The age factor is another consideration and older Malaysians may have different perspectives. They’re longer here, put responsibilities to others as important as compared to self; build and have their net work of friends and business associates here, and learn how to work around the system to make their money, which they cannot do so in other countries. You’ve got the money you don’t have to migrate: you holiday wherever you want, and continue eat nasi lemak here and be with family & friends!
In spite of NEP that ostensibly favour Malays, many Malays (not just non malays) are increasingly also migrating.
If we think Malaysia is in economic backwaters in terms of growth due to NEP, one should think again that for an high income country like Singapore, even in high growth places like the other Asian “chop sticks “ countries with superior work ethics, the young and talented there are also leaving for better places in the West.
I know many Singaporeans under a “meritocratic” milieu who complain about Singapore being a pressure cooker, high salaries being used up to pay for housing, lack of political and civil liberties being run by a ruling clique that has an attitude that they “know best”, micro-managing their lives etc. Singapore loses its own young and talented and makes them up from migration from here thinking pastures are greener there.
Even high growth countries like Republic of China and India are facing this ‘universal’ problem. In the 1990s tens of thousands of Taiwan’s educated young poured into the United States. They are better off than Malaysia only in terms that they could have a sizable talent within world wide Chinese or Indian Diaspora elsewhere who are dissatisfied with wherever they are to come to China & India or Taiwan!
For the average not so talented Joe here, especially if he were captive of and imbued with BTN’s “racial ideology”, we have attitude like what Taxidriver highlighted in #12 that “I would rather my country not so developed and live with my own people than a highly developed country where I am surrounded by foreigners ”! If one were particularly reliant on the crutch or otherwise rent seeking, why would they want to stem the brain drain when it represents even less competition for themselves? For those in the security services, they could abuse and bully semi skilled and illiterate foreign labour, and enrich themselves, something they can’t do if everyone around is educated and talented.
The system as we find it here militates against solution to the loss of talents problem.
For the young and talented, it is also a trade off. For those who have relatives and friends here it is hearts in exile, a part of the heart here and the other part in search of a new home, pilgrims for a better life, so to speak, thinking that the other side grass is greener. It may well be for some but not for all.
The Chinese have been migrating from China to many parts of the world for a long time ago. I ha been to several big cities in the world and I would always find a Chinese town in all these cities. And I believes that they and their off-springs had accepted their fate that these cities are HOME and I never heard of any of them wanted to go back to China or their other places of origin. Its doesn’t matter where they are now, Sydney, Chicago, London or Singapore. Most of them love it there. Most of them are doing well as the Chinese are hard-working and smart people as well. However, the DAP has always blamed the government (or UMNO??) for making Malaysian Chinese to migrate. It have been used as a political ammunition for so long and its really unfair. This is what I don’t understand. People migrate for greener pasture and that their choice. Stop its DAP. Work for the betterment of Malaysia. And for those who have second thought and feel like coming back, please do set any pre-requisite. The best is just stay wherever you are. At least have the means and guts to move elsewhere. But what about the rest of us? Good or bad, they would never go or migrate! Thats a true Malaysian spirit.
It is because of money one goes to Australia for greener pasture. It is because of money one comes to Malaysia in search for greener pastures. What is the difference between one from China coming to Malaysia and a Malaysian going to New Zealand ? Just the nature of work because bottom line is money. The search for more money and the power to spend money cause border crossing. Why is Malaysia desperate to achieve 2020 ? Because of money because with money, everything else come spontaneously. Without money you can only dream and you can work till you faint yet you cannot do anything else.
It is true that students who are used to living in foreign countries and who grow to like the weather there or even their way of life would like to remain there. These are all the pull factors. NEP pushes these student to stay away from Malaysia, particularly the non-Malays. Together with the pull and pull factors, Malaysia is just a training ground for emigration. That might indirectly satisfy the general public who are told that their gene make-up are not up to meritocracy and competition.
In the 1970s a lot of Thais left Thailand for USA and elsewhere fearing the domino effect of Vietnam’s fall. The professionals and highly trained persons returned after years overseas, and they no doubt contribute to the development there. These returned persons have no problem finding a role in the country because there is no NEP there. Further the Thais who left the country earlier on were not pushed out, and they could easily rebuild their network of friends and reconnect with their relatives. Back in Malaysia, the push factor has gone on for 40 years, and many have lost their network of relatives even. Some might have nostalgic feeling for their birth place. But they would prefer to be with their children who know no love for this country.
Nasi Lemak might taste good. Since there is no claim on copyright for its preparation, that is available everywhere. Yes, Malaysia might claim that it would have more potential visitors from the former Malaysians, like Vitenam was to Vietnamese Americans. But unlike Vietnamese Americans, Malaysian Americans do not consider this their first choice for silver-hair programme. The young of the wrong race can’t even serve the country in the civil service, can’t start business without discounting the worth of 30% of their shares, and can’t get fat salaries working for others. All told, the harm by NEP has been enormous, and the country might not recover easily and soon with NEP removed. But with NEP the country would join the league of Zimbabwee, if it is not already there.
Those people staying outside need not have a more comfortable life than us. They make more salary, but they spend more to live, eat and sleep. They pay higher tax. We always have to compare the earning with the living expenses. People in rural China or Sarawak make little but they also spend very little.
For brain drain problem, it happens every where unless you are America. So we should not be super sensitive over this issue, or trying to be super patriotism and eventually ended up as extremists.
“Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia’s deputy prime minister and education minister, is leading a major review of the education system. “There will definitely be a major overhaul of the system,” he said in an interview, adding that the system needed to foster creativity and innovation”
I personally dont trust this man who is a racist to lead the major review. His colour tainted mind will made the system worse.
If they had no changed the system after May 13, this country would have earned a lot more from education services to the other countries . Education is meant for education but UMNO politicians wants it to produce voters to keep them in power. It is greed for the politicians that have made this a failed state. A review of the system is a way to explore new sources of income, period.
moo’s major review of the education system—
All students and teachers from kindergartens up to universities will have to wear big badges which read “Saya si kaki lepak”, or “Saya si mata sepet” or “Saya si Kakai Botoi”.
The ruling party (Fed level) always claimed Malay is still weak n need NEP, Don’t they (ruling party) realized that by saying so they are slapping on their own faces? Didn’t they have 53 years to do the necessary to strenghten the Malay? So It is a BIG failure for them!
Stewart Forbes :”Some companies complain of poor communication and English skills.”
You wouldn’t believe it if you hear some local graduates speak and write English!
The older generation laugh and roll on the ground when they read some of their job applications. Actually, our hearts break and we grieve the moment we stop laughing!
Thank you MOE Moo for your ‘sh*tty contribution to Malaysian education. It’s people like you who cause the ruin and failure of not only the Malays but millions of others over the last 3 decades.
Ai yah, English not important lah, Idris Jala n Moo oredi said so
1M’sia can achieve d Vision 2020 goal of becoming a high-income nation without proficiency in d English language
Can 1, no worry 1
Can local graudates understand Kim Quek’s book “The March to Putrajaya – Malaysia’s New Era is at Hand”available at http://www.themarchtoputrajaya.com/
PR better watch out, as Moo said SV’s decision 2 step down in January would strengthen BN
MIC 2 appoint SV as party adviser n confident kuat 2 win back all d 9 parliamentary n 19 state seats in d next GE
BN is weak because of Samy Vellu, so said Moo. He is waiting to talk about CSL, or would he not?
Malaysia…. from wealth to poverty, thanks to UMNO.
Our situation has probably reached critical mass of deterioration because of twin factors operating at same time:
• increasing no. of professional and technical (“Skilled Group”) of Malaysian citizenry are migrating overseas (whether due to pull and/or push factors) to wealthier countries. According to official statistics, the number of these Skilled Group migrating from March 2007 to August the same year was 139,696; in same period in following year the numbers leaped to 304,358. Not sure the figures for 2010. The actual figures may be larger than official statistics reveal.
• influx of unskilled & semi skilled labour from poorer countries (Indons, Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Burmese, Nepalese) (“Low Skilled Group”) of which the extent also not certain. Maybe well over 2 million!
It is not envisaged that there is any increase in any in-flow of the Skilled Group to compensate our outflow in this sector from other countries or Malaysian diasporas when according to World Investment Report 2010, our FDI plunged 81 percent from US$7.32 billion (RM23.47 billion) in 2008 to just US$1.38 billion (RM4.43 billion) last year. This envisages little investment flows in and high outflow of our capital out.
At the same time as regards to the inflow of Low Skilled Group, an abatement is not expected.
Our domestic economy – plantation, construction, manufacturing and services – heavily rely on foreign workers. If we stop the flow we will countenance economic disaster especially when foreign investments are not coming in (for whatever reasons).
So many depend on these migrant Low Skilled Group to make money. Attempts at official regularization of these Low Skilled Group is not efficacious because of the corrupt attitude of many amongst the authorities in charge of regularization, whose main side money is made from this Low Skilled Group. They are the most vulnerable group. All kinds of predators thrive on their misery and plight. It is beyond the scope of this short post to elaborate how this is done. Some of the stories are horror stories. And those from this Group are not deterred by local exploitation and abuse because they still earn more than the places from where they come.
We are therefore faced in a critical situation where the brains and reasonably well to do are leaving – in their place a disproportionate influx of the poor, the uneducated and the semi skilled, demanded and encouraged to come in simply because of they are willing to do the 3 ‘Ds (dirty dangerous and demeaning) jobs that Malaysians shun, unregulated as to their numbers making their way around because of prevailing culture of corruption of both authorities and locals thriving on them for supplement to their income.
Where will the country in a few years time with such a twin trend of unabated brain drain and brawn gain? It is not just the loss of local talent: it is a gain of the unskilled & semi skilled, bringing along with them a host of problems.
“Financial incentives like importing cars tax-free and efforts to ease access to permanent residency for foreign spouses,”
*rolls eyes*
Only in Malaysia can car ownership be considered a major financial incentive. Elsewhere, cars are “cheap”. Anybody can afford a car. USD 50,000 isn’t actually all that much when one is paid in USD.
And to be frank, both permanent residence of a one’s spouse and car ownership is requirement rather than an added incentive to return to Malaysia. In order words, every other country already offers these thing, including the one I have been adopted by.
So what has Malaysia got to offer? All I can see is government sponsored racism and 3rd world style corruption.
Ibans from Rumai Temenggong Jugah will be found around the world because of better salaries and work conditions. Come Gawai, they come back to Sarawak, stay in the 5 star hotels and drive to their rumai to visit their long lost relatives. From their rumai, they work in towns and cities. From their towns and cities, they move overseas to work. They are no different from everyone around the world. Malaysians go to Singapore and Singaporeans go to America for the same objective; good salary. Americans move to other countries because the other countries offer second home programmes. Don’t think they stay put. Don’t think Ibans and other princes of the earth stay put too. With the promotion of internet, they will come to know the outside world. If Sarawak’s internet penetration is only 20 %, imagine the changes if there is 100 % with the government open policy. Everyone is seeking for a better life. Who wants to row a boat when you can fly a spaceship ?
Chinese PM Wen Jia Bao said:
“Corruption and inflation will have an adverse impact on the stability of power in our country.”
Najib: Do you think in Malaysia, corruption and inflation will propel UMNOputras to high-income economy and leave non-Malays and Orang Asli in the low-income bracket?
Maybe, Jib, corruption and inflation can also help Malaysia achieve Visioon 2020. I mean, Tun M thought so. That is why his regime was, now we know, so corrupt.
Stupid suckers!
Imagine looking at all the rich men’s houses and suddenly seeing squatters after making a turn. Squatters mean your vision for a perfect place has failed unless your vision include still having poor people around. Personally vision 2020 means no more unfortunate people or unfortunate people will receive the best care. Not sure if the creator of this vision 2020 has this thought also.
Hello people out there, if u think malaysia is not good enough for you guys, please pack up your things, sold your properties here AND GO MIGRATE.
WE BE HAPPY WITHOUT YOU GUYS HEHEHEHE
Professional and technical citizens, esp d nonMalay kind, r not required here
Balik India, Tongsan, n any which place
So, it makes sense they out flow, M’sia no want human n interllectual capitals
In future, M’sia will b exporting unskilled n low skilled citizens 2 rich nations
So it makes sense we hv an influx of unskilled & semi skilled labour from poorer countries (Indons, Bangladeshis, Filipinos, Burmese, Nepalese) (“Low Skilled Group”) now
In not distant future, they will in turn bcome experienced trainers 2 train our unemployable graduates as maids, toilet cleaners, kopitiam helpers, plantation workers, etc
Sarawak is now famous 4 exporting violent workers (aka Kallang killers) 2 Sg
http://getai.stomp.com.sg/stomp/sgseen/what_bugs_me/386318/sarawak_ibans_involved_in_kallang_murder.html
Talent galore, indeed
Sarawakians can also choose 2 work in Taib’s n family’s empire in Canada, US, Aussie, Europe
Hardcore crime doers no place in West Malaysia but exile to Sarawak. Still hardcore in Sarawak. Send to Singapore for their famous draconian laws.
Singapore prisons are not like ours here. They are clean and the prison wardens are professional, kind and humane unlike those in Malaysia. And what’s more prisoners are provided with balanced meals and fruits!!! This is why many are repeat offenders from poor countries because life for them inside Singapore prison is much, much better that being free in their own countries.
Singapore Lawmakers have this joke about the necessity to ”downgrade” prisoners’ food, otherwise they keep coming back for more.
BN is weak because they have lost sight of what governing is all about. Power corrupts and after more than 50 years in power, they are so intoxicated with power that they think they are above the law, acting arrogantly and behaving as if they themselves are kings.
We are critical about being sucked away by the south (Singapore, Australia,…) but do we think about we sucking the talents from the poor countries such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myammar, Philippines, etc? These countries need most of those talents than we need, especially the doctors.
The west (west Malaysia) also sucked away the talents of the east (east Malaysia). So why are we complaining about? While you do it to others (east), others (foreign) will also do it to you. We are just too selfish and very narrow minded.
We need 6% growth over then yrs? Lets compound that figure (year on year) over 10yrs. What do we get? Taking 2010 as base yr, in 10 yrs we would enjoy a compounded growth of nearly 90% (of base yr).
Hey that is not quite double yet!
I reckon we need a min of 6.5% yearly growth in order to see a 100% expansion of our wealth in ten yrs.
So do we need david copperfield then? No. We actually need more indon labourers in our factories and construction sites.
Sometimes peacetime doesn’t bring about change. It’s only a war that brings about a definite change. Bur the form of war could take many forms. It could be guns and tanks, or like the Cold War between the Eastern and NATO blocks, or Gandhi’s civil unrest, etc etc, etc
What is the war that civil and fair minded people in this country have come up with to wage a war to remove all these lanuns and save this country? You have to think deeply and strategize. Is it the flight of talent? Is it the flight of money? Civil unrest? Dont pay taxes? Mass protests? Fair elections? Unfair elections? Media war? What?
Only a war can save this country. If PR is that white knight, they must wage this war effectively. The country has already gone to the dogs. Whether we can build a new one like what the Vietnamese and previously the Japanese and Germans had done would very much depend on a clear strategy how to win this war to save this country.
In this globalized world, people moved from one country to another. The question is will the great Malaysia be able to retain some critical one to make the country the difference? Zilch!
The problem with Singapore policy is that they are exclusively trying to attract the best brains from Malaysia and Indonesia. They are ignoring the blue collar workforce; maybe in LKY’s mind these people don’t make quality babies.
For a moment, let’s assume that the Singapore government tries to instigate a mass migration from Malaysia. They build affordable housing, schools, hospitals, public amenities on their reclaimed land and they invite Malaysians (of all skills) to move over there to start a new life. They give subsidised housing plus no income tax for 5 years. Immediate passports. How many will go on the promise of a better future for their children ? 2 million ? 3 million ? Whatever the number, Bolehland will lose billions in tax revenues, property values will plummet.
You lose tens of thousands a year, they don’t care. They say good riddance to bad rubbish. You lose a million a year, and they panic because the kitty that they dip their hands into doesn’t get replenished.
Will there be a Moses who can part the Johor straits for the betterment of his people ?
I’d like to share my good news. My application for a PR in Australia has been approved. Currently in Australia on a Temporary Resident visa. I” be returning to Malaysia and will reenter Australia for PR status to be activated. I did my MSc at Imperial College London and PhD (DPhil) at Oxford Unviersity. Came back to Malaysia for a bit to work at a university, but decided to head down under for a better life. In another 4 years, I’ll probably relinquish Malaysian citizenship to get an Aussie passport. I love it here. Don’t have to worry about saving up for children’s education, all taken care of Aussie govt. God bless Australia my new country!
Hey! malaysiandownunder, heartiest congratulations to you. We all go to any place that can offer us a better future. Best of luck in all your future endeavours. But, BUT……. please don’t forget to come back to vote if you can. You vote might set us free from oppression from the present UMNOB/BN government.
May the good Lord watch over you.
Betul. Betul. Betul. Even our beloved TM is now in Melbourne in one of her hospitals. So what is happening to our doctors here ? If the Singaporean government is planning that each of her citizens will earn $ 2 million per year and that is in Sing dollars, mind you, what’s stopping you from going there if they need you whether professionals or not because at the end of the day, money is power.
“Even our beloved TM is now in Melbourne in one of her hospitals” – cemerlang
Ohh!, it is just some recalcitrant virus that bugging the old man, declared the doctors.