Malaysia is celebrating 50th Merdeka anniversary – half-a-century of nationhood. But things are going wrong all over us, whether macro or micro, from long-standing protracted ones to unheard-of scandals and outrage of public services.
The cry of Ooi C.H.’s plaintive email can be summed in one sentence – why is Malaysia continuing to export brains and import brawns? Read Ooi’s cry of a Malaysian patriot and nationalist:
I’m a former student from a famous high school in Bukit Mertajam. Each year, my school ‘produced’ many excellent students and intellectuals such as doctors, engineers, lawyers, etc, for the community and nation. This year also the same. My school achieved most satisfactory results in both SPM and STPM. But sadly, among those ‘good’ students, more than half will pursue their studies at private colleges, such as Inti, Nilai. After 1 year of study at these colleges, they will further their study overseas if their financial situation allows them to do so. It’s not only loss of human resources, it also a huge loss in terms of money. Let’s say, if a student spends RM200k to go to Australia, Canada, etc. Imagine how much it wil be if this involves 1000 students a year? When the STPM results were announced, yes my school did it again. 6 students got 5As and 1 of them was among the best candidates in the country. 38 students gained 4As. Most of them have done the same thing after receiving their results. Guess what? Yup, they applied for Singapore’s universities. I guess about 15 people got the offer from Singapore. I think all of them will accept the offer, no doubt. What is so surprising about the small number of 15 students?? All of them are top students in my school!! According to the Singapore government’s policy, they will be bonded for 3 years. As they will receive attractive salaries and stable permanent jobs in Singapore, few of them will come back to develop their career in Malaysia. This is what my friends told me. Why this situation is repeated every year but neither our government nor our ministers can solve this problem. Sigh. What is the main cause of this situation, you may try to find out. There are many benefits to be developed in Singapore but many disadvantages in Malaysia. Malaysia has achieved a high international trading figure months ago. But we are losing the intellectual human resources which is the main asset to develop a country. We export the intellectuals to Singapore, but meanwhile import building workers from Indonesia. What is the “loss and profit” business of the government. Please look into it seriously.