The
movement of people from places to places is commonly seen in the world today. Human
migration has brought several advantages to the society such as opening doors
to many new fields of education and career opportunities. However, it has also impacted
countries negatively. Brain drain issue in Malaysia has impacted them economically
and socially as many talents are migrating to foreign countries. Hence, the
Government came up with measures to address this issue by retaining their
migrated locals back and also inviting foreign talents to work in Malaysia.
However, the overall rate of outflows is still higher than the rate of inflows,
and this shows that more should be done to salvage the problem. This brain
drain issue, therefore, is a serious threat to Malaysia as it will continue to
affect its economy and society, hence, the current measures have to be revised
and there should be new solutions. This essay will then discuss the brain drain
issue and its impact on Malaysia. Also, the current measures will be evaluated
and new solutions are recommended to revert brain drain to brain gain.
The brain
drain issue stirred up from human migration is commonly seen in Malaysia, where
more highly-skilled Malaysian leave their homeland for overseas incentives such
as better quality of life. These foreign countries, usually richer, are able to
provide better incentives to attract talents over as compared to Malaysia (Schellekens,
2011). Besides foreign incentives, another cause of brain drain is due to social
injustice. The Malays in Malaysia are given special privileges in areas such as
entrepreneurship and education where this is an unfair treatment towards the
Chinese in Malaysia (Schellekens, 2011). For instance, the Chinese are given
limited entries to good schools in Malaysia due to racial quotas, thus, forcing
them to study in foreign countries (Schellekens, 2011). However, this issue has
caused negative impacts on Malaysia, such as slow economy growth and social
issues, in the long run. This is because as more highly-skilled Malaysian
departs, there will be fewer talents managing and contributing to the development
of the country, thus resulting in slow economy growth. The Government tried to
salvage this impact by bringing in foreign talents to contribute instead, however,
this has caused social issues among the people. These foreign talents have
taken job opportunities from the locals, thus they are seen as a threat in the
workforce. Therefore, the impact of brain drain is serious and it has to be
resolve effectively.
One of the current measures implemented by the Malaysia Government is the Returning Expert Programme (REP), where the purpose is to retain migrated Malaysians back and use their skill sets and experiences gained abroad in Malaysia (TalentCorp, 2015). The REP provides attractive benefits to returning Malaysian in response for their future contributions towards the development of Malaysia (TalentCorp, 2015). This measure is especially beneficial to Malaysian who are temporary migrated or currently being ill-treated in overseas. However, it is still not enough to retain them back as the loss of income due to returning is not covered. Therefore, the RET is only attractive and applicable to a small group of migrated Malaysia since the incentives are still not attractive enough.
Another current measure implemented is Resident Pass-Talent (RP-T) where the purpose is to attract highly-qualified foreigners to remain and continue working in Malaysia, where they can help to contribute to the economic development of Malaysia (TalentCorp, 2015). This can also compensate the losses the country faced in brain drain. This measure is able to keep some of the foreign talents to stay and contribute as they will be given attractive job incentives. However, it has led to tough competition in the workforce as some locals lose their jobs to the foreign talents. This has resulted in arising social issues where the locals do not welcome these foreign talents and may force even more Malaysian to migrate.
It is vivid to see that providing incentives are no longer effective to retain migrated Malaysian back due to the fact that foreign countries provide better incentives than Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysia should use another approach to minimize brain drain. Firstly, they should reduce social injustice in Malaysia by improving inequality to the Chinese. Secondly, they have to improve their education and workforce sectors through making long-term investment. They have to improve the standards of their schools to build a reputable education system where this will then reduce the number of Malaysian migrating overseas to study. Malaysia can also allies with foreign countries where this can create more job opportunities for their locals. Moreover, Malaysia should come up with cultural measures to form strong connections between the citizens and their roots, such as implementing more culture events for the nation and ingraining this connection from young. This measure can reach out to a larger group of migrated Malaysian to stay connected to their roots. Thus, once brain drain turns to brain gain, fewer foreign talents are needed and this will reduce social issues.
In conclusion, brain drain issue in Malaysia can be minimized through the implementation of new approaches to tackle the issue. This essay has discussed the causes of brain drain issues and its impact on Malaysia’s economy and society. Despite the Government’s efforts, the current measures implemented to resolve the issue are still not effective enough to retain their talents back. This shows that Malaysia should change their approach to resolve the issue since incentives measures will not be as attractive as compared to foreign countries. They could improve their infrastructure such as modifying their racial policies, enhancing their education and workforce sectors, and reconnecting to their own people. The impact of brain drain is serious in the long return, thus, new approaches have to be executed to address this issue in Malaysia effectively.
One of the current measures implemented by the Malaysia Government is the Returning Expert Programme (REP), where the purpose is to retain migrated Malaysians back and use their skill sets and experiences gained abroad in Malaysia (TalentCorp, 2015). The REP provides attractive benefits to returning Malaysian in response for their future contributions towards the development of Malaysia (TalentCorp, 2015). This measure is especially beneficial to Malaysian who are temporary migrated or currently being ill-treated in overseas. However, it is still not enough to retain them back as the loss of income due to returning is not covered. Therefore, the RET is only attractive and applicable to a small group of migrated Malaysia since the incentives are still not attractive enough.
Another current measure implemented is Resident Pass-Talent (RP-T) where the purpose is to attract highly-qualified foreigners to remain and continue working in Malaysia, where they can help to contribute to the economic development of Malaysia (TalentCorp, 2015). This can also compensate the losses the country faced in brain drain. This measure is able to keep some of the foreign talents to stay and contribute as they will be given attractive job incentives. However, it has led to tough competition in the workforce as some locals lose their jobs to the foreign talents. This has resulted in arising social issues where the locals do not welcome these foreign talents and may force even more Malaysian to migrate.
It is vivid to see that providing incentives are no longer effective to retain migrated Malaysian back due to the fact that foreign countries provide better incentives than Malaysia. Therefore, Malaysia should use another approach to minimize brain drain. Firstly, they should reduce social injustice in Malaysia by improving inequality to the Chinese. Secondly, they have to improve their education and workforce sectors through making long-term investment. They have to improve the standards of their schools to build a reputable education system where this will then reduce the number of Malaysian migrating overseas to study. Malaysia can also allies with foreign countries where this can create more job opportunities for their locals. Moreover, Malaysia should come up with cultural measures to form strong connections between the citizens and their roots, such as implementing more culture events for the nation and ingraining this connection from young. This measure can reach out to a larger group of migrated Malaysian to stay connected to their roots. Thus, once brain drain turns to brain gain, fewer foreign talents are needed and this will reduce social issues.
In conclusion, brain drain issue in Malaysia can be minimized through the implementation of new approaches to tackle the issue. This essay has discussed the causes of brain drain issues and its impact on Malaysia’s economy and society. Despite the Government’s efforts, the current measures implemented to resolve the issue are still not effective enough to retain their talents back. This shows that Malaysia should change their approach to resolve the issue since incentives measures will not be as attractive as compared to foreign countries. They could improve their infrastructure such as modifying their racial policies, enhancing their education and workforce sectors, and reconnecting to their own people. The impact of brain drain is serious in the long return, thus, new approaches have to be executed to address this issue in Malaysia effectively.
References
Schellekens, P. (2015, September 22). http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/BrainDrain/Malaysia.html.
Retrieved from
http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/BrainDrain/index.html:
http://cs.stanford.edu/people/eroberts/cs181/projects/2010-11/BrainDrain/Malaysia.html
TalentCorp. (2015, September 22). Residence
Pass-Talent - Initiatives - Our Work - TalentCorp Malaysia. Retrieved from
TalentCorp Malaysia:
https://www.talentcorp.com.my/our-work/initiatives/residence-pass-talent
TalentCorp. (2015, September 22). Returning Expert
Programme - Initiatives - Our Work - TalentCorp Malaysia. Retrieved from
TalentCorp Malaysia:
https://www.talentcorp.com.my/our-work/initiatives/returning-expert-programme
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