Brain drain: Only the less talented and less bright will remain

The idea that tax cuts and sending Bahasa Melayu teachers abroad to entice the many Malaysians overseas to return to Malaysia and serve their country indicates a lack of sensitivity the government has in tackling the brain-drain the nation is currently facing.

The brain-drain issue is further compounded when you factor in the number of skilled technically trained workmen and women who ply their trades elsewhere but in Malaysia. This is a group who are skilled in a form of craft or handy-work, yet they are unable to find employment in Malaysia and are eagerly taken up by overseas companies to work on oil-rigs or in the construction industry.

Add in the fact that many Malaysians are opting to migrate and seek permanent residence in their country of choice, and the issue is at crisis level.

Human migration is nothing new. The out of Africa hypothesis is a school of thought a lot of scientists use to explain how Homo-sapiens ended up populating almost every corner of the world except the Polar Regions.

The reasons for human migration are fairly easy to guess - food and shelter. In today’s modern world we can also add in the element of economics and opportunity.

Thus, it can be quite amusing to hear the Prime Minister announce a 15 per cent tax flat rate for 5 years for all returning professionals. And at a recent get-together with Malaysians living abroad, the Deputy Prime Minister suggested sending Bahasa Melayu teachers to teach the overseas’ communities the national language since this was also viewed as a hindrance to them returning.

Yet the truth to why people are migrating and choosing to stay away from Malaysia has very much less to do with tax incentives or even the national language.

Malaysia, over the years, has become rather hostile towards intellectuals.

In order to retain the intellectuals, the nation must build a conducive environment where these intellectuals can expand their thinking and explore various branches of knowledge.

Intellectuals cannot be suffocated by a totalitarian government nor curtailed by economic systems that favour one from another.

Intellectuals flourish within an open atmosphere free from fear or rebuke; an environment that honours and respects the thoughts and thinkers of such thoughts.

Draconian laws that stifle freedom of speech or skews fair and right judgements cannot exist within an environment that hopes to retain intellectuals.

The intellectuals will sense it and point it out. The will quickly learn that such systems only favour an elite few. Benefits should be equally shared and not kept within the grasp of the ruling minority.

When an ecosystem is hostile towards intellectuals, they will migrate to where their talents are appreciated and valued, and they can afford to move, knowing full well that skills and talents such as theirs can command a high monetary return in countries that need them.

The brain-drain in Malaysia did not happen over-night, but it is a key side-effect of policies put into place in the late 80s which slowly snowballed and created an environment that forced many to choose to move overseas. Policies that generated a systematic culling of intellectuals and thinkers.

These people do not hate the country of their birth but they are thinking ahead and planning for a better, more secure and brighter future for their families.

The government of the day has to address this need, for Malaysia has not just lost this generation of thinkers but also their children who probably will never return to Malaysia ever again. - Malaysia Chronicle