TMI:
The number of Malaysians who surrendered their citizenship has almost doubled in this year, according to Deputy Foreign Minister Senator A. Kohilan Pillay, who revealed today that about 3,800 Malaysians have given up their citizenships to date compared to 2,000 last year.
This figure, however, is much smaller than the 304,358 Malaysians who were reported to have migrated from March 2008 to August 2009.
There was nevertheless a sharp rise in the number of Malaysians who registered themselves as having moved abroad with 210,000 of them doing so from January to August this year compared with 94,000 from March to December 2008.
There’s a topic close to the heart.
A very rough guesstimate: about a quarter to a third maybe of my high school classmates are currently working overseas. Possibly more.
Their jobs? Doctors, consultants, bankers, engineers, lawyers, actuarists – you name it.
I made the observation some time back, that it’s likely that my friends who have came back by now will stay back, whereas those who are still working overseas now will likely never make Malaysia their home again.
The government talks about ‘brain gain’ programs and somewhat insultingly thinks that attracting foreign talent is the answer (when we have tonnes of Malaysians overseas that are plenty talented).
I think they miss the point though. Although it’s part of the overall package, people don’t leave just for money or better career prospects.
It’s after all not easy to leave one’s home, family, and nasi lemak. It really isn’t.
I think though, that so many young Malaysians – not unlike my classmates – just feel that the country is going nowhere.
Many of course feel discriminated against, and many more feel that the current culture of corruption is so ingrown that there is no place for an honest man or woman anymore in this country.
I think the key to bringing the talent back home is to give Malaysians hope – hope that tomorrow will see a cleaner Malaysia with genuine integrity, a Malaysia where unity goes beyond an empty slogan.
Hasn’t really happened under 50 years of BN rule, so I doubt there’s any hope there.
Is there hope for change?
I had the pleasure of making it to the Malaysiakini dinner last Saturday night, and it always warms me to see so many old friends and comrades together, celebrating a truly fine Malaysian institution.
One of the performances that featured the following song (different version), which I hadn’t heard in a long time. It’s message is one I still believe in for Malaysia.
There is always hope for change and a better tomorrow. The question is whether its a fat hope or a skinny one ; and going by the weight of those presently handling the reins of government, its a fat one. That’s why so many are leaving. They don’t have much faith in fat hopes. They know what’s going to happen when the oil runs out , in maybe 20 odd years or less, with not much alternative money spinners to buttress the fallout. By then, there will be hardly anything left in the national treasury except a lot of IOUs to be repaid by those who remain behind.
There’s a story about employees in a sinking company. Those loyal employees who leave last tend to get the worst while those who leave while the going is good tend to do much better. Can Malaysia be compared to a sinking company?
we are malaysian born ,it wasnt an easy decision to shift over here (bejing) there are alot of sentiments, logistic esp on children education.
1999 we came to shenzhen n various part of delta south..we noticed as foreigners we do get some kind of attention .the local governments and business community are warmth and helpful.
2004 we decided to move our business here,,it was a hard decision.
why we moved over ?
we believed even we earned less we can accept and stay back in malaysia, but we cant tolerate those racial remarks, some of the very obvious duit kop from local authorities .it become some form of harassments..
another area it is the bureautic behaviour of those in civil service.it seemed it take 5 person to do 1 job.
there are many reasons ..lest we speak the better
i think it is not how many people leaving the country.IT IS HOW MANY PEOPLE NOT COMING BACK?
Many of these migrants are the children of parents in the late forties/ early fifties. Why are there more migrating than ever before? Here is the connection. Working backwards these parents started working about 30 years ago, that was the time the nep took into full effect. Many have been denied equal opportunites in education and employment. Most dropped out upon completing secondary education in the late 70s or about 20yrs after the policy was introduced. These parents were in fact the first barge of the nep product. In the face of this discrimination, they vowed not to let their kid endure this policy. They have to toll hard with their sweat and blood, saving from day one, preparing for their children’s future. Many make it successfully, sending their children abroad, telling them not to bother to come back. How do I know? Because I am one of the parents.
It doesn’t matter if you leave. The government has an agenda behind the strategy to attract “foreign talent”. They are only interested in “certain” type of talent – fits the “added value” industry and must be Muslim to qualify.
Just like any company where a new leader is installed, old talent who may be very capable leave when they are not part of the “new” team, cannot get along and so on. The new leader will get “new” suitable talent who are able to go along with his direction.
If you leave, don’t expect the government to offer incentives to get you back. They only want foreign talent who will help to keep the status quo.
I wholy agree with you that the Garment only scratched the surface when come to the reasons for migration. If they have probed further they would have noted that it is primarily the discriminary Garment policies that is the essential cause for such mirgation pattern.
I have spoken to some fellow non-Malay Malaysians (I won’t even want to label Bumi-putra because it is a dirty word), their comments is that many are trying to leave Malaysia because the situation for them are becoming unbearable. If one do not have skill, then they will find as much money as possible to gain qualification.
the bn govt is laughing thru thier noses.who cares when people migrate,for all those migrating are opposition members and bn will get to win the elections
this is a gerneral comment and it represent the feelings of the majority senior net-surfers like me .Please change the black color of your site. It is very2 strain to our eyes which the word s in white.
nat: on the way! hopefully by next year, sorry!
dont worrry,
my children are next.
why pay tax to thses ketuanan melayu?
I agree with your keen observation, Nat. Yes – I am one of your ex-classmates now working abroad and having the opportunity to indulge in a specialist interest with minimal corruption and where merit mostly comes when a job is well done. My heart is still partly at home and I remember returning to cast my vote for the last election – yes, I wanted to make a difference. 18 months ago, I had thought of returning to Malaysia – to improve the health care system, change any old ways for the better and serve the needy rakyat. However, my initial enquries and investigations have only led to disappointment. Learning the harsh truth where double standards are quite often a norm and ‘dinosaurs’ who are not keen to accept the return of their own Malaysian talent. Some of the reasons I was given behind the scenes by senior practitioners were ‘they will not want you to return to overshadow them’. My main purpose to return was to improve the standard of care. Now, I am once again looking at my options – staying in the UK, returning to Australia or trying out Singapore are all becoming more appealing options with every day gone by. Malaysia is still an option and I believe there is still hope.
Freedom is great – but only in a society mature enough to accept it.
Malaysians (especially Overseas Malaysians and ex-Malaysians) who are concerned about the sorry state of our beloved nation currently under the thumb of kleptocrats, incompetents and racists should not despair.
Please contribute to change by donating your skills etc to the more progressive political parties and NGOs of Malaysia:
1. By setting up socio-political blogs (especially ex-Malaysians who can speak up freely). Use the power of the Internet to inform, persuade and mobilise people for social change!
2. By donating money to the more progressive political parties and NGOs of Malaysia
3. By setting up clubs overseas to promote awareness of what’s happening in Malaysia and providing support to activists in Malaysia
4. In the case of ex-Malaysians, by joining organisations like Amnesty International to protect the human rights of activists in Malaysia
The Tamil Tigers of Sri Lanka (a terrorist organisation, unfortunately) were able to become so powerful because of the strong political and financial support they received from Tamils living outside of Sri Lanka.
With the support of Overseas Malaysians and ex-Malaysians, the movement for change in Malaysia can only grow stronger and stronger!
P.S. I am urging the Pakatan Rakyat to add to their Election Manifesto for the next General Election a clause stating that a Pakatan Rakyat federal govt will allow ex-Malaysians to apply for Malaysian Permanent Resident status and also, to regain their Malaysian citizenship (i.e. recognise dual citizenship).
Better educated and qualified Malaysians tend to have higher expectations and demand better governance – something UMNO/BN is neither willing nor able to provide.