Muhyiddin: Malaysian diaspora an asset

The government does not view Malaysians who have migrated abroad as unpatriotic, but an asset which it wants to cooperate with and "hopefully entice to return," Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin said.

He pointed out that Malaysians abroad could play a pivotal role in the nation's transformation.

"It must be reiterated here that people who migrate are not unpatriotic and the government does not view them as such.

"The Malaysian diaspora is an asset to our country, an asset that we do not want to alienate but an asset that we would like to cooperate with and hopefully entice to return in the near future," he said in his keynote address at the Education Nation Conference 2011 in Kuala Lumpur.

Muhyiddin who is also Education Minister said this was reflected through the formation of Talent Corp, a corporation set up to encourage Malaysian professionals abroad to return home.

To this end, he said the government would continue to cooperate with the Malaysian diaspora by keeping an open channel via the Malaysian embassies.

"Malaysians abroad can also act as our ambassadors and promote our country to investors, tourists and students of higher learning institutions," he said.

He said the brain drain phenomenon is a global issue as talents are constantly attracted by better perks such as remuneration, job fulfillment and career advancement.

He also said that the country would still require expertise and talent from abroad in high technology industries as well as in the fields of IT, medicine and strategic management in this interim period.

"This should not be viewed as regression of our national capacity but rather as an addition to the existing local talent pool.

"It should serve as an opportunity for us Malaysians to glean knowledge, expertise and promote transfer of technology from these individuals," he added.

On another note, the deputy prime minister said the government would ensure that education policies were looked into in totality - from the pre-school level to post-graduate and working life - to ensure continuity and seamlessness.

He said that through cooperation with established and renowned institutions abroad, the government intends to make the education sector an economic endeavour by attracting more foreign students.

He added that Malaysia also aimed to attract at least 200,000 foreign students by the year 2020, which would roughly translated into RM600 billion worth of exchange.

He said Malaysia's strategic regional position "forms a melting pot of

confluence that allows cross fertilisation of ideas, cultures and civilisations dialogues."

- Malaysiakini