Open the doors to talent, foreign or home-grown

 

I hosted a dinner at home recently with some friends and their families over some very nice satay and shawarma. A good time was had by all.

The men (or their ancestry) were all from various parts of North Africa. Our after-dinner conversations turned to politics. Our claimed expertise covers all of North Africa, the Middle East, South-East Asia and certainly Malaysia, and the topic somehow settled on failed nations.

We agreed on one thing – there aren’t many countries where Muslims are as comfortable as in Malaysia. Some North African countries are textbook examples of failed nations, beset daily with political, economic and security crises. Many of the Middle Eastern ones aren’t much better either.

However, one part of the Middle East – the oil-rich Gulf kingdoms – is successfully forging ahead to become the centre of the world. They’ve created huge airlines and airports and ports and commercial hubs to make themselves global centres for commerce, travel, finance and increasingly, culture.

They’ve been pragmatic and haven’t let raw tribalism or arrogance dictate their national strategies. They’ve opened up their countries for the best people to come in and help develop their economy. They look set to prosper for the foreseeable future.

I heard from a counterpart in one of the Gulf’s best-known companies that 96% of their staff are foreigners. Shocking, but that clearly showed the foresight, courage and perhaps ruthlessness of the country’s leaders who knew you can’t be world-class if you keep pushing the world away.

Malaysia’s attractions

Many people from the poorer parts of the Muslim world have flocked to the Gulf. But many also looked at Malaysia as an option: a predominantly Muslim country that’s doing well economically and stable politically is very attractive to them.

That we’re not a totally Islamic country doesn’t faze them. It’s not a deal-breaker for them that there are dogs in the streets and pork and alcohol and temples and churches everywhere, even if these tend to drive some locals nuts.

Many such people who came to Malaysia decades earlier as professionals and academics have settled in and happily call Malaysia home. Their children are as likely to grow up as great citizens, or at least great residents, as any natural-born Malaysian. Perhaps even more so.

Over the past few decades, however, things have changed. The many who have come to our shores, either willingly as fortune-hunters or less willingly as asylum seekers or refugees, have found Malaysia to be less welcoming and often more hostile.

Some have been here for many years and are still stressed about the lack of clear paths for permanent residence or citizenship. It’s not so much that the requirements are onerous, but more of the arbitrariness and capriciousness of the process that spooks them.

Arbitrary change in MM2H rules

The recent debacle regarding the MM2H (Malaysia My Second Home) scheme is a case in point. The scheme was set up to attract foreigners to reside in Malaysia. It was reasonably successful and many found Malaysia to be affordable, comfortable and pleasant and their presence added billions to the local economy.

Then the rules were changed in the most arbitrary manner and with such poor justification and communication. Requirements were upped to unreasonable levels such that many left Malaysia, either because they couldn’t meet the criteria, or just refused to accept such bad treatment.

It’s most perplexing indeed. The MM2H residents bring money into the country even if they don’t reside here all the time. They also bring expertise and knowledge even if these are not requirements of the scheme. They take nobody’s jobs away and in fact create jobs and income for locals.

Upping the requirements now means the targeted foreigners are those who already have so many options. Malaysia is just one among many, and it’s not necessarily the most attractive one either.

Arrogance and misplaced confidence

Those who could meet the absurdly high threshold that has been set are those who could also easily tell us to go fly kites instead.

There’s no logic here except for pure arrogance and misplaced confidence about Malaysia’s standing in the world. The feeling that this is our country and we can do whatever we want betrays ignorance of the competition among nations for the economic benefits of such residents.

It’s especially bad if we compare ourselves to countries such as Singapore and the Emirates and kingdoms of the Middle East. They’ve been working hard for years to make themselves attractive for investment and talent, and have even become among the favourite destinations for many of our own home-grown talent.

We’re experiencing a severe brain drain, and it’s likely to get worse. I have family members abroad who may not find anything suitable to come back to in Malaysia, and may not be appreciated even if they do. While they don’t feel they have been pushed out of Malaysia as many do, they don’t feel welcome to return either.

Power of immigration

Politics aside, it’s been proven that immigrants are a force for economic and societal rejuvenation, a necessary ingredient if countries want to remain vibrant and progressive.

The US remains the world’s number one economic power even after a century precisely because it remains very open and welcoming to new blood.

I’ve many friends who live there, and elsewhere too, who had they remained in Malaysia would be making a huge contribution right here. Even though many feel aggrieved about how their country of birth treats them, many still feel tremendous love and loyalty to it.

If we wish to retain our prosperity and create continuing employment and economic opportunities for the many young people in our society, we must do something to counter the brain drain.

People leaving the country by itself is not a major issue: it’s a major issue only when there’s a net loss of talent when the quality of those who left is much higher than those who come in, or who remain.

The lesson of Japan

The US, the UK and other countries lose many incredibly talented people every year. But these countries have the resources and culture to keep growing more talented people, while also being very welcoming and very attractive to new talent from elsewhere.

On the other hand, there is Japan. They did so well to rise from the ashes of destruction to become the world’s number two economy, but ran out of steam economically and plateaued as the country wasn’t open enough to bring in new outside talent due to its homogenous, insular culture.

Slowing down the brain drain is extremely difficult, tied up with so many other almost intractable social and cultural issues. But we can’t just accept being the training ground of talent for other countries – we must be beneficiaries too.

Profiting from others

While working to fix our problems, we must also try to profit from other countries’ brain drain.

The social and economic issues about immigration are tough. But they’re well understood and manageable with good strategies. There should not be worries about foreigners comprising 96% of our workforce – we’ve a wealth of home-grown talent right here, as opposed to those oil-rich, talent-poor countries.

The issues are more about our willingness to face the real world and act pragmatically and strategically, rather than with misguided knee-jerk reactions driven by nationalism and fear.

A more open society

Our leaders mustn’t be driven by insecure, myopic visions of being swamped or dispossessed. There’s plenty to go around for everybody. We must introduce a lot more competition and motivation in the country as that’s the only way we can have a tougher, fitter and more competitive nation.

An open society cannot just be open to those who want to walk out. It must also be open to those who want to walk in. We must be vigilant at the door of course, but we can’t just slam it shut. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.