STORY #1
Push factors
written by Wil ,
February 25, 2010
I am a member of the Malaysian disapora currently working for the Australian government in a senior position, having been educated in Australia with a bachelors and two masters degrees. Yes, an outdated education system, untendable crime rates, racial discrimination in all levels of society and the increasingly bigoted government are all factors why I've chosen not to return to Malaysia. Notice I did not mention money, standard of living (healthcare, housing affordability) etc. Neither am I talking about the opportunities Australia offers compared to Malaysia. This is simply because the PUSH factors from Malaysia are primary reason for the brain/people drain, not the PULL factors from other countries. I am close to giving up hope on the land of my birth.
STORY #2
When Bibi worked in an electronics factory in north Perak, little did she foresee marrying her expatriate quality control engineer. After his conversion to Islam and their subsequent marriage, he attempted unsuccessfully to gain permanent residence. He claims to have spent a small fortune on lawyers, on 'proof' and photographs for the application process, and several trips to the immigration offices to be 'verified'. He claims that one low ranking government official even offered him a birth certificate for RM60,000, as a pre-cursor to a 'red' identity card, which would help facilitate the PR status. When Bibi's husband's work permit expired, he attempted to form a trading company. He travelled to the border every few months to renew his immigration-social visit pass, while he explored this avenue. He was ineligible for a sole proprietorship and although he could form a limited company with 51 percent bumiputra ownership, he found that for one reason or another, it was not viable. Local partners wanted maximum profits for little or no work. A Caucasian, he was seen as a cash cow, he says. In addition, the Perak town they lived in was very provincial. Had he lived in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, he could be anonymous, like the expatriates married to Malay women in these cities. As an expat convert in his local town, the Malays expected him to uphold Malay values and scrutinized his every move, right down to his religious obligations. He was disillusioned with living in a goldfish bowl and both he and Bibi left for Europe.
STORY #3
When Ida graduated from Australia with a chemical engineering degree, she worked in a chemical plant in Selangor. Her friendship with a chemist blossomed into love, with talk of marriage. There was one problem - Anthony was a Catholic. He dutifully presented himself at the mosque for agama lessons in preparation for his conversion. The imam never appeared for their pre-arranged appointments. Frustrated with being let down repeatedly, he stopped going. His lucky break came when he was offered a job in a neighboring country. Ida joined him. She was free from parental and family pressures, he from the religious zealots. They married. He retained his faith, she remained a Muslim. They started a family and have since emigrated to New Zealand. Recently, she embraced Catholicism.
STORY #4
Yes, I Have Leftwritten by Gone Malaysian , February 19, 2010
Yes, I am also one of those who left. I had no choice. I had the grades but the quote didnt allow me to pursue my studies locally. So I had to beg for a bank loan and pursue my studies. To Mamakthir, you can have whatever meager stuff the government throws out to you. To Loyal Citizen, only low class citizens, who cant do much because their poor, stay behind. The high class, rich people all have PR in other countries so that when things go bad in Malaysia, they can just fly their family to safety. But the low class people like you, will stay and suffer.
SOME STATISTICS
According to a recent parliamentary report, 140,000 left the country, probably for good, in 2007. Between March 2008 and August 2009, that figure more than doubled to 305,000 as talented people pulled up stakes, apparently disillusioned by rising crime, a tainted judiciary, human rights abuses, an outmoded education system and other concerns.
MyView
From the 4 stories told above, what can we say more. That is only the tip of the iceberg. I believe, the brain drain will escalate in the future if nothing is done on the problems (as expressed in the 4 stories above).
I believe the mass Malaysians, who pays their due deserve a better government, don't you think so? On top of that, there is certain criterion that 30% Bumi must be present at all level of company (broking firms) and all Government Linked Companies must have a Bumi CEOs [not an effective way to do business]. I do appreciate if someone can enlighten me on this subject, what other countries on earth have such a practice, where there is discriminations among their Malaysians who happens to be in different races.
Push factors
written by Wil ,
February 25, 2010
I am a member of the Malaysian disapora currently working for the Australian government in a senior position, having been educated in Australia with a bachelors and two masters degrees. Yes, an outdated education system, untendable crime rates, racial discrimination in all levels of society and the increasingly bigoted government are all factors why I've chosen not to return to Malaysia. Notice I did not mention money, standard of living (healthcare, housing affordability) etc. Neither am I talking about the opportunities Australia offers compared to Malaysia. This is simply because the PUSH factors from Malaysia are primary reason for the brain/people drain, not the PULL factors from other countries. I am close to giving up hope on the land of my birth.
STORY #2
When Bibi worked in an electronics factory in north Perak, little did she foresee marrying her expatriate quality control engineer. After his conversion to Islam and their subsequent marriage, he attempted unsuccessfully to gain permanent residence. He claims to have spent a small fortune on lawyers, on 'proof' and photographs for the application process, and several trips to the immigration offices to be 'verified'. He claims that one low ranking government official even offered him a birth certificate for RM60,000, as a pre-cursor to a 'red' identity card, which would help facilitate the PR status. When Bibi's husband's work permit expired, he attempted to form a trading company. He travelled to the border every few months to renew his immigration-social visit pass, while he explored this avenue. He was ineligible for a sole proprietorship and although he could form a limited company with 51 percent bumiputra ownership, he found that for one reason or another, it was not viable. Local partners wanted maximum profits for little or no work. A Caucasian, he was seen as a cash cow, he says. In addition, the Perak town they lived in was very provincial. Had he lived in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, he could be anonymous, like the expatriates married to Malay women in these cities. As an expat convert in his local town, the Malays expected him to uphold Malay values and scrutinized his every move, right down to his religious obligations. He was disillusioned with living in a goldfish bowl and both he and Bibi left for Europe.
STORY #3
When Ida graduated from Australia with a chemical engineering degree, she worked in a chemical plant in Selangor. Her friendship with a chemist blossomed into love, with talk of marriage. There was one problem - Anthony was a Catholic. He dutifully presented himself at the mosque for agama lessons in preparation for his conversion. The imam never appeared for their pre-arranged appointments. Frustrated with being let down repeatedly, he stopped going. His lucky break came when he was offered a job in a neighboring country. Ida joined him. She was free from parental and family pressures, he from the religious zealots. They married. He retained his faith, she remained a Muslim. They started a family and have since emigrated to New Zealand. Recently, she embraced Catholicism.
STORY #4
Yes, I Have Leftwritten by Gone Malaysian , February 19, 2010
Yes, I am also one of those who left. I had no choice. I had the grades but the quote didnt allow me to pursue my studies locally. So I had to beg for a bank loan and pursue my studies. To Mamakthir, you can have whatever meager stuff the government throws out to you. To Loyal Citizen, only low class citizens, who cant do much because their poor, stay behind. The high class, rich people all have PR in other countries so that when things go bad in Malaysia, they can just fly their family to safety. But the low class people like you, will stay and suffer.
SOME STATISTICS
According to a recent parliamentary report, 140,000 left the country, probably for good, in 2007. Between March 2008 and August 2009, that figure more than doubled to 305,000 as talented people pulled up stakes, apparently disillusioned by rising crime, a tainted judiciary, human rights abuses, an outmoded education system and other concerns.
MyView
From the 4 stories told above, what can we say more. That is only the tip of the iceberg. I believe, the brain drain will escalate in the future if nothing is done on the problems (as expressed in the 4 stories above).
I believe the mass Malaysians, who pays their due deserve a better government, don't you think so? On top of that, there is certain criterion that 30% Bumi must be present at all level of company (broking firms) and all Government Linked Companies must have a Bumi CEOs [not an effective way to do business]. I do appreciate if someone can enlighten me on this subject, what other countries on earth have such a practice, where there is discriminations among their Malaysians who happens to be in different races.
No comments:
Post a Comment