Malaysia emigration rate second highest in the world

KUALA LUMPUR - More than a quarter the Malaysian population has quit the country to seek permanent residence elsewhere, putting the country’s emigration rate second behind China on the global scale, an international property consultancy firm said today.

According to Knight Frank, the trend, credited mostly to a purported lack of opportunities here, could worsen in the coming years if Malaysia continues down the road to conservatism.

“As far as push factors are concerned, sometimes the lack of opportunities that may prevail here, which of course our government is trying best to improve, and these could be some of the push factors in this country.

“Of course if Malaysia continues to becomes, in terms of liberalism, we're not as liberal as we used to be, being liberal is curtailed, you might see more Malaysians moving to more liberal countries,” Knight Frank Malaysia's managing director Sarkunan Subramaniam said at the launch of “The Wealth Report 2016.”

He added that ample business and education opportunities in cities like London and New York are also considered “pull factors” that have been luring Malaysia to leave their homes for greener pastures abroad.

“As I said, this trend will continue as Malaysians become more and more international and of course as I said… there are a lot of business opportunities presented as far as business growth and education et cetera there is a major pull factor,” he added.