Malaysia – a country in decay?

[superadmin]

A few weeks ago, I bumped into an expatriate and after exchanging pleasantries, we got to talking about various issues. In the course of the conversation, I told him that I used to live in the US.

A frown formed immediately on the face of the straight-talking, boisterous Englishman. Seemingly flabbergasted, he exclaimed in an almost reprimanding tone: “Then why did you come back to this racist country?”

Ordinarily, a question like that would be unwarranted. After all, why would anyone be questioned for returning to their own country?

But this was a question I had heard once too often – from relatives, friends and even complete strangers – so I had almost come to expect it. I also have friends of all races and none of them are racists.

I told him I loved Malaysia and its warm, good-natured people, but that I was working from here now largely due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions.

However, I know that for many foreign-educated returnees, the only thread that keeps them here is their family. But it’s a thread that’s starting to fray – slowly but surely.

For Malaysia, sadly, seems to be a country in decay – a fact that’s becoming more apparent everyday. Here are its four most telling signs:

A massive brain drain

Malaysia, a country which has long wanted to join the coveted developed nations club, is in no position to achieve it. How can it, considering Malaysia is losing its most talented, highest-skilled people by the boatload? This is a contentious topic that’s become front and centre of national conversation, thanks to a slew of recent stories about Malaysians who have made it big in other, more meritocratic countries.

This dangerous outflow of skilled labour from Malaysia has been increasing. From 184,014 people in 2000, it increased to 276,557 people in 2010 and 342,639 people in 2013. I shudder to think of what the number would be today.

A joint study by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2013 found that Malaysia’s exodus of skilled labour was double the world average.

At this point, we should probably stop calling it “brain drain” and start calling it “brain bleed”.

TalentCorp, the GLC tasked with bringing back skilled Malaysians, has failed dismally. It brought back 272 people in 2017, 309 in 2018 and 276 in 2019. To call this a drop in the ocean would be generous.

The perks and higher salaries they might offer do little to mitigate Malaysia’s many systemic problems, the chief of which – according to research house Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research – is its race-based affirmative action policy.

It states: “…affirmative action policies favouring the ethnic Malay population (Bumiputera)… is likely to continue to cause a ‘brain drain’ where talented non-Malay members of the population seek opportunities overseas”.

Popular FMT columnist Mariam Mokhtar takes a similar stance, writing: “Many of the people who left did so reluctantly because they were denied opportunities, such as in education, and they didn’t want to suffer like their parents at the hands of the affirmative action policies. Less qualified people were able to get scholarships or jobs.”

She adds: “It is not just the non-Malays who stay away; for several years, many Malays have also decided that they have had enough of the stifling race-baiting and religious extremism in Malaysia.”

Another source of consternation for many is the relatively poor salaries offered by many companies here. We don’t even have to compare Malaysian salaries with American, European or Singaporean salaries as some might argue that they have a decided advantage due to their stronger currency, hence making it an unfair comparison.

Instead, let’s look at China, a country that’s been synonymous with cheap labour for decades. Today, the average pay for a software engineer in China is RM10,367 (RMB16,756) a month. In Malaysia, however, it’s a measly RM3,900. The situation is similar in other professions as well. How does Malaysia expect to stay competitive in the global market with such stark pay disparity? It’s no wonder highly-skilled people are leaving the country in droves.

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