Talent Corp: Another white elephant?

Tan Zhongshan - pinched by S'pore

Mariam Mokhtar, Malaysia Chronicle

Talent Corporation. The horse has bolted, the carrot’s rotten and there’s an elephant in the room.

The latest initiative to attract and retain talent as well as to woo the 700,000 Malaysians working abroad, is easier said than done.

Prime Minister Najib Razak said that Talent Corporation would start to operate from 1 January 2011 whence it would try to locate and engage the overseas talent.

But how? He has not said how Talent Corporation proposes to do this. Many Malaysians do not register at the High Commission of the country when they are working, studying or living in, when abroad.

Are these homesick Malaysians supposed to contact Talent Corporation or is it the other way around?

If we were to assume that Malaysians return and take up jobs with wages, seniority, perks, promotion prospects and all the other accompanying features like health care, housing etc that are comparable with what is received overseas, what does Najib propose to do about the elephant in the room?

That elephant of course represents the social side of things, the things that have little to do with the workplace but has everything to do with his lifestyle and his family.

Will Najib sort out the education system and offer the children of these families a first class education that is based on meritocracy and is not quota driven?

Add to that all those things that we cherish, like non-raced based policies and institutions, transparency, freedom to worship (including for the Malays) and freedom of expression.

Najib cannot ignore how Malaysians do not tolerate corruption in its various institutions – the police, the judiciary and the various government departments. How will he deal with these when the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Agency, is itself compromised?

Many of those who return may have married foreigners. What sort of guarantees will Najib give the spouses so they can remain in Malaysia and work without hassle from immigration?

As a number of Malaysians want to live out the rest of their lives at home, how will he guarantee that the foreign half can have leave to remain indefinitely in Malaysia? Many of them will by then, have only the one home - in Malaysia.

Is Najib aware that whatever policy he announces, hardly filters down the management line? Communication within his government ministries is bad.

Many remain sceptical about Najib’s new proposals. They know that the country is very good with plans but that when it comes to execution, that is a major stumbling block.

Will Najib get rid of racism, sexism, corruption, nepotism, cronyism and the ISA? How prepared is he to dismantle the Ketuanan Melayu concept as well as the New Economic Policy?

He can entice Malaysians home only if takes positive measures to ensure a free and democratic society.