By Yow Hong Chieh, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 — The Najib administration needs to ensure a greater degree of meritocracy in education and employment to tackle the fundamental causes of Malaysia’s brain drain problem, economists have said.
A World Bank report published last week warned that the ongoing exodus of professional Malaysians was likely to intensify in coming years and further erode the country’s already narrow skills base.
CIMB Investment Bank chief economist Lee Heng Guie said Talent Corp, set up by the government earlier this year to lure and retain skilled workers, should conduct a thorough study to determine the best way to stem the outflow before serving up incentives.
While expressing confidence that the government was serious about tackling the problem, he said the incentives on offer so far were “short term” and not comprehensive enough to address the Malaysian diaspora’s concerns about lack of meritocracy in education and employment.
Talent Corp announced on April 12 that Malaysian professionals working abroad who returned to Malaysia would only have to pay a 15 per cent flat income tax for five years under the Returning Experts Programme (REP).
“They really have to do a study on why Malaysians are going out and how to attract them back,” Lee told The Malaysian Insider.
“It’s better than ad hoc dishing out incentives hoping people will come.”
But he cautioned that it was still too early to tell how Malaysians targeted by Talent Corp would respond to the flat tax incentive.
“It will be interesting to see how many Malaysians actually come back to take advantage of this,” he said.
Jupiter Securities research head Pong Teng Siew said the lack of meritocracy in tertiary education remained one of the most glaring obstacles to retaining and nurturing local talent.
He said “broader objectives” set by the government has distorted educational opportunities for the best and brightest and chased away talented Malaysians to foreign shores, from which they were unlikely to return.
“As long as the emphasis remains on other objectives than academic excellence, then the brain drain will continue,” he said.
Pong warned that the brain drain meant Malaysia would face an “uphill climb” to attain high-income nation status as there were now fewer skilled individuals to lead the “technological advancement” of the nation.
Comments (8)..
written by guests, May 02, 2011 19:07:04
I think Talent Corp knows the root of the problem but do not have the political will to do it. Again knows the problem but choose the political correct solution as oppose to the right solution.
In my opinion, Talent Corp will fail.
By the way, is there any statistics published on their success, thus far? ...
written by Awang Hitam, May 02, 2011 18:57:36
As long as umoooono is running bn. Malaysia is stewed, screwed big time. They know nothing of running a country other than dangling the RM infront. Tolol ...
written by Angela Ooi, May 02, 2011 16:33:41
CANland is already broken and beyond fixing but not to worry, it remains KETUA. How? In what way?
Oh never mind lah..it's enough that .Moo2Cow, Perkasa, Mahatahi, etc declares it is so! ...
written by AlwaysFair, May 02, 2011 15:44:55
How can you have meritocracy implementation when you have people like Toad-Ali of Perkosa and Mamak-shit always stirring up racist controversies. This is because a system based on merit is opposing the bumi-affirmation moerit system. Even I who is not considered a great brain would love to migrate given the right opportunity, not to mention those bright ones who are offered scholarship overseas or working there. Who want to come back? Everyone wants to leave, just that we have no opportunity.
The Chinese is being used as the bogey-man who want to take over the country. They are being made to be perceived as the enemy the Malays must unite against in order to win. Why is it when the population of Chinese has dwindled from 40% to 28% they are still being considered a threat? How can the govt allow the Chinese to be constantly made to feel alienated and abused? Just for their political agenda? Can't they find better ways to unite the Malays by implementing more just and fair and transparent governance? Isn't 22 years of Mamak's oppression bad enough? Are we to be oppressed generation after generation? If you don't go back to the right path even how much you swear also a***h won't listen. ..
written by AlwaysFair, May 02, 2011 15:33:03
This is the end result of a failure to implement merit system that have resulted in little competition and thus declining standard in everything even in quality of Parliament leaders. Having greedy people like Mamak-tahi and Ibrahim, who are never satisfied with what they have, makes it even more difficult for the nation to move forward. These are the people who are willing to sacrifice a nation's competitiveness and prosperity just for pusuit of power and wealth. Most of the problems would be solved if they are thrown in jail for Sedition, NEM takes off and everyine have to work hard to suceed.
Since no one would dare to jail these powerful people our best option for a progressive nation would be to vote for total change. Vote Pakatan!!! ..
written by sonofmalaysia, May 02, 2011 15:22:29
They offer people 15% income tax rate , and expect people to be attracted by that and take the trouble to come back . Even in closest neigbour , these people are making many times more , without having to bear with the shit of umno lanuns. !!
it is amazing to see how stupid and how detached from the real world this najis govt is. We see the blunder with the Chinese translation during Wen Jiabao visit, one can't help to conclude that this najis , himself not very bright , is surround by incompetent peole in PMO !! 43,000 of them, that 's why he has to pay APCO RM 78 million to ask people to coach them how to govern !! ..
written by hellosunshine, May 02, 2011 14:52:58
All the top posts in the civil services, the enforcement agencies and the ministries are held by umnoputras or their cronies. They are placed there not on merit but on their loyalties to umno/BeEnd. If these entrenched little Napoleons and warlords are sitting comfortably on their gaji buta fat asses with their extended teatimes, lunch 'meetings' and golf rounds, there is no way in hell the rakyat with qualifications and abilities will respect or be subordinates to these brain dead dip sticks.The brain drain will stop only when these useless 'leaders' are sacked and replaced by qualified and able people. As long as BeEnd/umno is in power, this will not happen any time soon. ...
written by HamChak, May 02, 2011 14:49:32
No need to change, lah
We are HAPPY to be a BODOH Land, ma.
Otherwise UMnno cannot exploit those Kampong folks la.
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