Mariam Mokhtar
It is interesting to read how two people try to resolve and reverse a problem which every country in the world faces today - brain drain. Malaysia is not alone in the brain drain issue, and all countries in the world, experience immigration and emigration flows, which will ultimately affect the calibre of the workforce.
One cannot help but compare and contrast how Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and former Premier Lee Kuan Yew try to negotiate this growing phenomenon.
The former’s methods remind us of the Malay saying “nasi sudah menjadi bubur” (the rice has become porridge) whilst the latter is thinking long term and tackling the problem at its roots.
One shows initiative, the other exhibits desperation.
Najib said he was confident that more Malaysians would return home as his administration created more high-income jobs through big-ticket infrastructure projects.
He said on Twitter and Facebook, “In our effort to transform Malaysia to a high-income nation, the income of Malaysians will increase in time to come.”
“I’m confident and I believe that as our economy grows rapidly, more Malaysians who are now overseas will be interested in coming back to work in Malaysia.”
Talent Corporation was launched on January 1 to arrest the country’s brain drain problem.
It has been reported that about 700,000 Malaysians are currently living abroad, with half of them in Singapore, and the rest in Australia, Britain and the United States.
Najib also highlighted his Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which he said would increase high-income jobs in Malaysia.
He said, “Among the focus of the Talent Corporation is to engage Malaysians that are working overseas so that they know that there are opportunities in Malaysia, especially with the Economic Transformation Programme that we are doing, which involves many entry-point projects (EPPs) that I have announced and will announce more in time to come.”
Among the EPPs is the RM36 billion mass rapid transit (MRT) project in the Klang Valley that will be the largest infrastructure project in the country.
According to Najib, the MRT project is expected to generate a gross national income (GNI) of between RM3 billion and RM4 billion beginning this year until 2020..
Another ETP project will be a nuclear power plant costing RM21.3 billion.
Once operational, the plant is estimated to generate a GNI of RM1.8 billion annually from the electricity generated, according to government projections.
On the other hand, Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore must preserve meritocracy in government schools to enable the best to rise to the top.
Lee was speaking at the Gryphon Award ceremony of the Raffles Institution (RI). The award is to honour illustrious Rafflesians who have made exceptional contributions to Singapore.
Lee, who is a former RI student, stressed that RI must always remain a school that admits students on the basis of merit, and not on their parents' status or wealth.
He said, “Graduating from a top school like RI does not mean that one will necessarily succeed in life. Academic ability must be matched by people skills, the capacity to adapt and change with changing circumstances, and to keep on learning.
“Rafflesians must understand their own limitations, in order to continue to improve themselves. They need to collaborate with people from different backgrounds to work together and to get tasks done.”
Lee also urged Rafflesians to contribute to RI's 1823 Fund -- a fund started last year -- to help the school get support from alumni, parents and friends.
Sadly, in Malaysia, mission schools are being sidelined by the country’s lop-sided educational policies. These schools, have produced countless numbers of illustrious Malaysians including Prime ministers, professionals and industrialists.
Many past pupils express disappointment and sorrow at how the schools are crumbling and have less than adequate facilities and regret that these schools are ignored by the Education Department. Some schools resort to funding repairs through initiatives of the Parent-Teacher Association.
If Najib is really interested in reversing the brain-drain, then he should tackle the lack of meritocracy in Malaysian education.
High on the list of the concerns of overseas Malaysians about returning to Malaysia are racial tensions and the country’s affirmative action policy, which gives special privileges to ethnic Malays, who make up 60 percent of the population.
Najib and his administration simply cannot see around this problem that if Malaysia were to become more of a meritocracy, it might just succeed in drawing back the diaspora.
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.
Otherwise, why would professionals want to return home and work in the public sector, and why should investors come back and invest in the private sector?
Until and unless BN puts its thinking cap on and tries to understand what everyone is trying to tell them, Najib can happily throw more good money into Talent Corporation and other similar institutions. Why waste more of the taxpayers’ money?
It is interesting to read how two people try to resolve and reverse a problem which every country in the world faces today - brain drain. Malaysia is not alone in the brain drain issue, and all countries in the world, experience immigration and emigration flows, which will ultimately affect the calibre of the workforce.
One cannot help but compare and contrast how Prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and former Premier Lee Kuan Yew try to negotiate this growing phenomenon.
The former’s methods remind us of the Malay saying “nasi sudah menjadi bubur” (the rice has become porridge) whilst the latter is thinking long term and tackling the problem at its roots.
One shows initiative, the other exhibits desperation.
Najib said he was confident that more Malaysians would return home as his administration created more high-income jobs through big-ticket infrastructure projects.
He said on Twitter and Facebook, “In our effort to transform Malaysia to a high-income nation, the income of Malaysians will increase in time to come.”
“I’m confident and I believe that as our economy grows rapidly, more Malaysians who are now overseas will be interested in coming back to work in Malaysia.”
Talent Corporation was launched on January 1 to arrest the country’s brain drain problem.
It has been reported that about 700,000 Malaysians are currently living abroad, with half of them in Singapore, and the rest in Australia, Britain and the United States.
Najib also highlighted his Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), which he said would increase high-income jobs in Malaysia.
He said, “Among the focus of the Talent Corporation is to engage Malaysians that are working overseas so that they know that there are opportunities in Malaysia, especially with the Economic Transformation Programme that we are doing, which involves many entry-point projects (EPPs) that I have announced and will announce more in time to come.”
Among the EPPs is the RM36 billion mass rapid transit (MRT) project in the Klang Valley that will be the largest infrastructure project in the country.
According to Najib, the MRT project is expected to generate a gross national income (GNI) of between RM3 billion and RM4 billion beginning this year until 2020..
Another ETP project will be a nuclear power plant costing RM21.3 billion.
Once operational, the plant is estimated to generate a GNI of RM1.8 billion annually from the electricity generated, according to government projections.
On the other hand, Singapore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said Singapore must preserve meritocracy in government schools to enable the best to rise to the top.
Lee was speaking at the Gryphon Award ceremony of the Raffles Institution (RI). The award is to honour illustrious Rafflesians who have made exceptional contributions to Singapore.
Lee, who is a former RI student, stressed that RI must always remain a school that admits students on the basis of merit, and not on their parents' status or wealth.
He said, “Graduating from a top school like RI does not mean that one will necessarily succeed in life. Academic ability must be matched by people skills, the capacity to adapt and change with changing circumstances, and to keep on learning.
“Rafflesians must understand their own limitations, in order to continue to improve themselves. They need to collaborate with people from different backgrounds to work together and to get tasks done.”
Lee also urged Rafflesians to contribute to RI's 1823 Fund -- a fund started last year -- to help the school get support from alumni, parents and friends.
Sadly, in Malaysia, mission schools are being sidelined by the country’s lop-sided educational policies. These schools, have produced countless numbers of illustrious Malaysians including Prime ministers, professionals and industrialists.
Many past pupils express disappointment and sorrow at how the schools are crumbling and have less than adequate facilities and regret that these schools are ignored by the Education Department. Some schools resort to funding repairs through initiatives of the Parent-Teacher Association.
If Najib is really interested in reversing the brain-drain, then he should tackle the lack of meritocracy in Malaysian education.
High on the list of the concerns of overseas Malaysians about returning to Malaysia are racial tensions and the country’s affirmative action policy, which gives special privileges to ethnic Malays, who make up 60 percent of the population.
Najib and his administration simply cannot see around this problem that if Malaysia were to become more of a meritocracy, it might just succeed in drawing back the diaspora.
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.
Otherwise, why would professionals want to return home and work in the public sector, and why should investors come back and invest in the private sector?
Until and unless BN puts its thinking cap on and tries to understand what everyone is trying to tell them, Najib can happily throw more good money into Talent Corporation and other similar institutions. Why waste more of the taxpayers’ money?
Malaysia is practising Idiotcracy for the past 50 odd years..that is what make Malaysia look like now.
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