A total of 304,358 Malaysians left the country between March last year and August this year for better education, career and business prospects, Deputy Foreign Minister A Kohilan Pillay told Parliament yesterday. This is a big leap from 139,696 Malaysians who migrated to other countries in 2007.
This works out to some 630 Malaysians leaving the country every day.
Can Malaysia afford such a continuing brain drain?
This is a big vote of no confidence not only in the Abdullah premiership but also in the present Najib administration.
In Singapore last month, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Malaysian Government is reaching out to Malaysians abroad to help promote the country.
It is a most extraordinary way of reaching out to Malaysians abroad by persisting with political, economic, educational and nation-building policies which strengthen the push-factors and expedite the brain drain from Malaysia.
#1 by passerby on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 2:09 pm
Kasim Amat,
We know why they left the country and what type of brains Malaysia got in return. Didn’t you read in the news about all those robbing and killing committed by your so-called new immigrants? You even have terrorists coming to the country and you called them talents? Don’t confuse those garbage immigrants with the expatriates.
#2 by cintanegara on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 2:25 pm
In that tiny country, there’s no NEP BUT 14% of its population is systematically marginalized…… They are prohibited from holding high positions in military/top government agencies bla bla bla…..they can’t even fly the fighter jet though they are qualified….given a clerical post in the cabinet… Meritocracy does not exist in that country
#3 by artemisios on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 2:28 pm
kasim,
your comment made me re-read the post of LKS.
& i really can’t find any part of the writing that implies, whether directly or indirectly of whatever you are saying: chinese & indians are smart, malays are not, those who left are good, those who don’t are mediocre… bla bla bla…. where did you come up with all of that???
or are you really THAT dumb?
look. nobody is insulting the malays, except you & all your umno boys. You boys are insulting their intelligence by thinking you can still get their support by continuing to play dirty race tactics and attacking their insecurities.
here’s a heads up. MANY of them are not insecure & they are not easily scared or mislead.
& your second paragraph is like an exact copy of the kind of generic dumber-than-a-14-year-old answer a really dumb umno politician would give everytime a reporter ask them a question of moderate difficulty.
#4 by johnnypok on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 2:33 pm
I think he is suffering a very serious form of “inferioty comlex”
#5 by taiking on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 2:40 pm
Hey isnt it a compliment? Yeah. It must be if you look at the matter in positive light – to be described as jews of malaysia. But seriously, I dont know it was more apt to label the jews as chinese of middle-east. Well that is another issue. I shant deal with it here. Anyway, wtf, its just a thought, alright.
The point is chinese in malaysia must be really smart. Well, smarter than the malays. I am not so sure about this but that is wot they chose to believe in. Anyhow, the chinese must smart enough to be feared officially by umno. Hence the call by umno to defend the malays against the chinese (wot? the jews?).
In the highly globalised environment of today, national boundaries are no longer impermeable or impenetrable to foreign influence and competitions. This fact needs no specific mention really. And Malaysia is no different!
And when push turns to shove and competitions grew both in severity and intensity, who should we rely on to defend the country’s economy? I would unhesitatingly send smart malays and yes the jews of malaysia to the frontline. The “crippled” will not be good enough for the purpose.
So arent you guys (kassim and friends) glad to have jews in malaysia? You people deserve to parish if you could not appreciate this point.
#6 by cintanegara on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 2:46 pm
artemisios can’t even sense,,,,, that kind of article is full of hidden agenda…nicely written and presented ….with a specific intention….This is what we called ‘Yang Tersirat dan Tersurat’…..Wonder when LKS will create a blog in BM…..
#7 by OrangRojak on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 3:31 pm
Taiking – ‘parish’ … in such a parochial comment too. =p
LKS wrote a non-racist article, can we keep the comments on the same footing? I think it’s sufficient to point out to kasim amat and cintanegara that the brain drain is not a racial issue – until that breakdown is released. I still cannot believe they do not know it. A more likely explanation, in my mind, is that the breakdown does not show that the migrants are all ‘balik cina’, as many here seem to be assuming.
#8 by ekompute on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 3:33 pm
“In Singapore last month, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Malaysian Government is reaching out to Malaysians abroad to help promote the country.”
I was chatting with a chatter on Yahoo Messenger and the guy says, “Malaysia? Oh now I remember. That bloody racist country.”
The government is reaching out to Malaysians abroad to help promote the country? Well, clean the house first, otherwsie what is there to promote other than racism.
#9 by tenaciousB on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 4:09 pm
Kassim Amat is a sad loyal UMNO supporter. The smarter malays will disagree with his statements.
#10 by boh-liao on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 6:56 pm
~630 M’sians leaving d country everyday
No issue 4 Umno Baru, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, etc
In fact, between now n d next GE
Umno n BN want more ppl, esp those who favor PR, 2 leave d country
D more d better, d faster vamoose d better
Good riddance, bye-bye
While more Umno/BN supporters r entering d country n they become BN voters cepat
Sabah is d model state, good 4 BN
#11 by tenaciousB on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 7:18 pm
UMNO had a good run thanks to the other races, but it’s all gonna be over soon. i think if they retain their foothold in the government in the next elections, it will be a 10 fold efflux of malaysians overseas. Then it will truly be Malaysia = UMNO malays, Indonesians, bangladeshis, myanmarese, vietnamese and orang aslis.
#12 by StraightTalking on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 8:02 pm
Cintanegara, the moral of LKS’s article is not about race, or who is smarter. It is simply about “survival first, everything else comes second”.
Go back and read Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs”. During the early post merdeka years, all Malaysians, regardless of race or religion, had an equal chance of attaining self-actualization. But, through Mahathir’s intervention, with his racist so-called positive discrimination policy, two generations of non-Malays had to endure life as a Malaysian with little or no opportunity whatever to even attain Level 3 in the hierarchy, while Malays were encouraged to “reach for the sky”.
To this day, Bn has not shown any sign of changing their discriminatory policies, and you are telling us that those who leave are bastards.
I repeat, in case you have forgotten. People leave not because they are unpatriotic. They leave because they know they will ultimately not survive or they’re thinking for their children, and their children’s children. Most Malays do not have this problem. Don’t you know this?
It is all about survival. I say this without any disrespect, but if you cannot understand the heartbreak among the non-Malays, then you are not a sensible person.
Warmest regards.
#13 by tenaciousB on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 11:18 pm
pointless talking to ningkapoops, a fools a fool, the truth hurts but here goes all BN has done despite the fancy pansy skyscrapers and infrastructure……sadly produced a dependent, unproductive, incapable of critical thinking population that would be perish on the international stage. :(
#14 by tenaciousB on Wednesday, 2 December 2009 - 11:29 pm
and to top it, with the governance of corrupt, overpaid, underworked, poorly qualified individuals who also are the product of the aforementioned party are ingredients for an earthquake with zero survival rate. Good luck!
#15 by trublumsian on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 1:06 pm
cintanegara kiss-my-axx-mat
what, got your little flea size ego hurt? oh, boy, i’m sooo sorry….. not! no way to sugar coat it, so i’ll just be blunt with some fact checks for you (i’ll say it in simple language, so please try to catch up).
the tiny country does hv some emmigrants, yearly, but exit interviews will tell u they do so because
1. the country is cramped
2. the draw of other countries, i.e. environment, open space, culture, liberal lifestyle, etc.
3. they can’t compete because the tiny country is packed with BRAINS!
in any case, the percentage is so minimal, i think it comes close to mental capacity.
and the thing w/ 14% minorities of the tiny country not attaining high posts or fly a fighter jet even qualified, well, that’s exactly the C grade minds ur kind have. C grade is a pass, arguably that’s qualification. but my sorry-axx friend, the tiny country requires As. THAT’s WHY the 14% don’t get to fly and THAT’S a FACT.
kit’s article in no way suggests malays hv no brains, but readers can’t help but unanimously gravitate towards the obvious in their responses, can’t they? here’s a staight forward question for u in ur ACCUSATION the forum here is suggesting malays r stupid – 50 years of nep for two thirds of the population, and what do u have to account for? nuf said. guilty as charge ;)
#16 by trublumsian on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 1:08 pm
correction, “the percentage is so minimal, i think it comes close to your mental capacity.”
#17 by ktteokt on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 2:31 pm
Between quality and quantity, I think UMNO only cares about quantity! This is in line with TDM’s 70 million population target!!! But what will Malaysia become if we have nothing but “garbage” with all the smart ones leaving the country to serve other nations?
The problem in Malaysia is that UMNO is stressing too much on Ketuanan Melayu and the policies implemented are so biased against other races. For one thing, all heads of government departments are MALAYS!!! This is obviously very biased and smart non-Malays who have been deprived of opportunities would definitely feel hurt!!
In a quest to justify their qualifications, these brainy ones would surely consider migration to a nation which appreciates their brains, not their skin colour!!!!!!
#18 by sstee on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 2:42 pm
well, i will be one of them in future.. at here, our knowledge and skills are not appreciated as our government, who are suppose to look after their citizen, is fighting over to get their own pocket full of $$…
tired of all this.. political stabilization is one of the most important factor if u want to attract more professional ppl to Malaysia, or keeping ur own professional from going out !
#19 by boh-liao on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 4:20 pm
This is a democratic country, feel free 2 stay or leave
Leave like others b4 you 2 find a better future n dignity (that’s why ppl migrate)
Some go 2 Ozland, USA, others may go 2 China n India (reverse migration)
Stay n accept your status as 2nd, 3rd class nobodies
Stay n remain d punching bag n boogey monsters of Umno B/BN
Stay n pay taxes 4 others, like MBs, 2 channel millions 2 London, Zurich
Stay n pray hard that you r not victims of snatch thieves or robbers
Stay n accept that your children may have to work as maids n laborers overseas
Stay n watch RM becomes once again banana currency
Stay n b prepared 2 b detained by polis, MACC n you may fly
Stay n watch d opera staged by MCA, Gerakan, MIC, PAS, DAP, PKR etc
Pls Stay as there r many fantastic reasons 4 u 2 do so
#20 by sstee on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 4:40 pm
@boh-liao
actually i dun see migrate to China or India is a “reserve-migration”, these country have better brighter future compare to Malaysia, and even better if u migrate as professionals.
#21 by sstee on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 4:42 pm
*refering to my previous post
typo-”reserve-migration”
corrected – “reverse-migration”
#22 by boh-liao on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 6:23 pm
Some Malaysians’ ancestors came fr China n India 2 cari makan n then settled down here
After a few generations here, now d descendants r going back 2 China n India
2 cari makan – make full use of their language n professional skills there
Reverse migration lah 2 lands of better opportunities, amenities, n facilities
#23 by ablastine on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 9:00 pm
Kasim Amat, you and cintanegara are probably the only racists here. Mr Lim said Malaysian and you want to brand him a racist. If you want to believe that Malay are mediocre people and Chinese and Indians are better, be my guest but don’t put words into somebody’s mouth and make wild accusations. If anybody is to apologise it is you. For some reason you do not even understand or know what state the country is in now and you want to shoot your stupid mouth off. You think Malaysia is getting on fine, dream on. Blessed are those who are ignorant. The best favour you can do for the country is to keep your stupid comments to yourself.
#24 by ablastine on Thursday, 3 December 2009 - 9:18 pm
Cintanegara, please do not insult the Malays in Singapore. They are anything but marginalised. The Malays in Singapore are proud that they are citizen of Singapore and their per capital income is more than five times that of Malaysian Malays. They hold their own in their robust society and stand tall without having to feel inferior because they knew their success is due to their own effort and not handouts like in Malaysia. Please stop this cock and bull story are you telling to the people of Malaysia about Malays in Singapore. As far as I know the Malays in Singapore really despise racist specimen like yourself. If you want to rot go ahead yourself but don’t pull our good Malay friends in Singapore with you. To them you are just a bigoted ignoramus.
#25 by ablastine on Friday, 4 December 2009 - 12:15 am
find it hard to believe that what we see in UMNO is a complete representation of the Malay race. It seems so different from the nice, gentle and unassuming Malay people I interact daily in the course of my work and play in Malaysia. Then it occurs to me that these racists, bigots, corrupted, uncouth, greedy and ignorant UMNO warlords and cronies are the result of decades old distillation of the worst kind amongst the Malay people. Worse still,that Mamak king saw to it that UMNO is completely infiltrated and colored by other mamaks whose agenda is to capitalise fully the NEP for self gain. In short UMNO is a highly selected group of obnoxious individuals whose mission and purpose in office is anything but nation building and racial unity. Their greatest bequeathment to a dying State is the perfected and refined method of plunder equal to no other. Do not think that the exodus is not of the brightest and the best in the country. This is the classical symptom of a dying State and the most mobile are making their move before the eminent collapse of the nation. The end is near. This time capital control will not work.
#26 by johnnypok on Saturday, 5 December 2009 - 4:21 am
Mr. Ka Sim is a product of NEP, and a very stupid one indeed!
#27 by tenaciousB on Saturday, 5 December 2009 - 10:08 am
Can’t blame Kassim amat, blame the government that created him.
#28 by son of perpaduan on Saturday, 5 December 2009 - 7:49 pm
630 malaysian leaving the country? Do you know how many illegals coming through KLIA, LCCT and illegal bordr crossing per day? Possibly the figure of these will shock the nation, haha ha.
#29 by boh-liao on Sunday, 6 December 2009 - 10:09 pm
D little red dot’s PM may not say it loudly
But he is truly glad M’sia is driving its professionals away, esp Chinese MBBS to Sg
Our doctors r more talented than Sg’s Chinese MBBS
Cos almost all of our doctors can speak three languages n a couple of Chinese dialects
Very useful in looking after multiracial senior Singaporeans, no language barrier
#30 by gnustiy on Tuesday, 8 December 2009 - 11:17 pm
I am studying in Singapore and unsurprisingly again, I am receiving financial aid from Singapore to further my studies, which is a sad case for me as a Malaysian. I intend to return to Malaysia to contribute in R&D but I doubt that the government is willing to accept me openly and give fair treatment. These are the worries of many of my Malaysian mates here as well. Our confidence to return to our homeland fades by the day with so many scandals, injustices, and disheartening policies unfolding everyday.