Brain Drain Issue Essay Example

make up 47 percent of all skilled foreign labor in Singapore.

It is worth noting that a significant number of Malaysians have chosen to pursue higher education abroad.In addition, there is a growing trend among younger Malaysians, particularly those below 23 years old, to leave their country. This has resulted in a shortage of skilled professionals in Malaysia as the departure of talented individuals is not being offset by an influx of skilled workers. Philip Schellekens, a senior economist at the World Bank, has highlighted this imbalance and emphasized that 60 percent of immigrants coming into Malaysia have only completed primary education or less. Furthermore, since 2004, there has been a significant decrease of 25 percent in the number of skilled expatriates. According to Table 1 provided by the World Bank, it can be seen that Singapore's Malaysian diaspora mainly consists of Chinese individuals. Additionally, this percentage has steadily risen from 85 percent in 2000 to a total of 88 percent in 2010.

Relocating to Singapore is not common among Malays and Indians, whereas the majority (61 percent) of Malaysian adults in the United States speak Chinese. Therefore, it is necessary for the government to reassess its policies regarding brain drain and diaspora as these mainly affect the Chinese population.

Talent Corporation and Strategies for Attracting Professionals

In order to tackle this issue, Talent Corporation Malaysia (Talent Corp) was established under the Prime Minister's Department with the main aim of collaborating with top companies and government agencies to address Malaysia's talent needs.

The Economic Transformation Program (ETP) aims to make Malaysia a high-income country by 2020. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak introduced this program alongside the

10th Malaysia Plan. One strategy for achieving this goal is attracting and retaining talented individuals to work in Malaysia. Talent Corporation plays a crucial role in helping the government achieve these objectives. Their main objective is bringing Malaysians and professionals from overseas to work in Malaysia, as well as developing local talent to boost the economy. Through this mission, Talent Corp aims to meet the talent needs of the government's ETP policy. The success of Malaysian talents like Pua Khein-Seng, who invented the world’s first single chip USB pen drive, showcases their potential both locally and internationally.

Besides in politics, Penny Wong, the first openly gay member of the Australian Commonwealth cabinet and Australian Minister for Finance and Deregulation, was born in Kota Kinabalu. In the fashion industry, Malaysians Zang Toi and Jimmy Choo are part of the diaspora, based in New York and London respectively. Talent Corp is taking steps to attract more Malaysians living abroad, including the Returning Expert Program (REP), Residence Pass (RP), and Electrical & Electronic (E) Sectoral Working Group. Malaysia is eager to welcome these talented individuals back to improve our economic situation and move away from being a middle-income country. As the industry is willing to pay for professionals, the market demand for talented individuals is growing, causing the market demand curve to shift right.

According to the Robert Walters half-yearly market 2011 updates, there is a high demand for knowledge workers in all sectors, including accounting and finance. Many companies are recruiting mid-senior-level positions in this field. In the latter half of the year, senior-level positions with strong financial backgrounds and experience in business development and strategic planning were actively

sought after. This trend was also observed in the IT commerce, Human Resources, Sales & Marketing, and Supply Chain & Logistics sectors in 2010.

Both organizations and candidates expressed optimism and hope for new talent and opportunities. However, there is an imbalance between the supply and demand for professional labor in the market. To address this issue, Talent Corp has created an online site where qualified expatriates can apply for residence passes as part of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's economic transformation program aimed at reducing the labor shortage.

The residence pass is offered to highly qualified expatriates who wish to continue living and working in Malaysia on a long-term basis.

The Residence Pass in Malaysia allows individuals to reside and work in the country for up to ten years without needing to renew their pass. This gives them the flexibility to change employers and applies to their spouse and children, who can also work in Malaysia. Johan Mahmood Merican, CEO of Talent Corporation Malaysia Berhad, explains that this pass aims to attract top talent from around the world. To be eligible, applicants must show professional achievement and possess relevant qualifications and work experience, particularly in key economic sectors identified under the Economic Transformation Programme (as cited in The Malaysian Insider, 2011).

Additionally, there is another program called the Returning Expert Program (REP). It encourages Malaysians with expertise living abroad to come back by providing incentives like a flat tax rate of 15% on Employment Income, tax exemptions for personal belongings, and two locally assembled Completely-Knocked Down (CKD) vehicles. Within six months of submitting a complete application to the Immigration Department of Malaysia, foreign spouses or children are

granted Permanent Resident (PR) status by Malaysia Talent Corp.

Foreign-born children or children who have previously studied in an international stream abroad are permitted to enroll in any international school of their choice in Malaysia. One of the programs introduced by Talent Corp is the FastTrack program (E;E working group). The FastTrack program is a 12-month initiative aimed at exceptional Malaysian engineering graduates, created by the Working Group to expand the pool of Research and Development (R;D) engineers necessary for the advancement of the E;E sector. The program involves apprenticeship opportunities, providing practical experience working on real R;D projects at host companies, along with formal training at Penang Skills Development Centre (PSDC).

At the end of the 12-month period, the host companies are expected to employ the apprentices. Talent Corp views these engineers as future drivers for the E;E sector's efforts to transition into more value-added products and services. It is crucial for Malaysians to fulfill the majority of talent demand mentioned earlier in order to create a sustainable talent pool for the country and drive progress in the National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) sector. The government aims to meet the economic demand for professionals and skilled labor. To achieve this, Talent Corp has implemented programs such as the Nurturing Malaysian Program, which includes upskilling initiatives, to enhance the competitiveness of local talents and meet market demands. Improvements in the public scholarship system and university curricula have been made to ensure graduates are better prepared for industry roles.

Setting up the sectoral working group to address talent requirements is crucial. Additionally, the government aims to establish Malaysia as an Asian hub for Western education through the ambitious "Educity"

located in Nusajaya, Johor. This reflects Malaysia's strategic plan to become a renowned center for western education. The country is responding to the increasing demand for English-language schooling among Asia's new middle classes and addressing the brain drain issue, with over 300,000 university-educated Malaysians working abroad. To reverse this trend, the government has actively pursued Western schools and colleges to establish branch campuses in Malaysia, organizing various education campaigns.

The proposition from Malaysia to Asian parents is that they can attend prestigious schools and universities in our country and earn the same degrees and qualifications as in Britain or America, but for a lower cost (Economist.com, 2011).

Conclusion

Malaysia currently faces a significant issue of brain drain and diaspora. More than 300,000 individuals with degrees choose to work abroad rather than in Malaysia. This problem could impede the achievement of vision 2020 and the goals of ETP. It is possible that the Public Service Department (PSD) and various human resource departments (HR) of government-linked corporations (GLC) have been unable to resolve this issue on their own. Alongside department cooperation, the Government should provide oversight and guidance to find a solution that benefits all parties involved.

Establishing Talent Corporation is viewed as a means for the Government to enhance Malaysia's talent pool and attract highly skilled foreign talent. Nevertheless, addressing brain drain issues and achieving these objectives necessitates collaboration from various agencies, industry, and talent. The Government must continue working with these stakeholders to ensure alignment and strive towards becoming a high-income country in 2020.

Recommendations

Talent Corp is considered a prudent move by the Government to prevent local talent from seeking employment overseas. However, those responsible should

anticipate opposition and be ready for extensive public relations efforts to retain and attract Malaysian talent. Strong determination and support from political leaders are essential.

All of this can be categorized into two parts: why Malaysian professionals choose to settle abroad and how to create an environment that incentivizes them to return. After graduating from overseas universities and finding employment there, many Malaysians opt to settle abroad. Others emigrate in search of better living conditions. To address the issue of professionals choosing to settle abroad, the Talent Corp must establish a professional and industrial environment that is on par with or even surpasses those found overseas.

The environment must be highly competitive in terms of pay, benefits, promotion opportunities, exposure to international markets, openness to new ideas, recognition of professional achievements, and implementation of world-class practices. The industries and professional institutions in this sector require significant investments in order to excel. These investments need to be consistent, monitored professionally, and free from cost-cutting or outdated practices. Additionally, further efforts are required to address the challenges faced by the second group. The investments needed encompass not only the professional, industrial, and economic aspects but also the social and political aspects.

The practice of transparency and true meritocracy is crucial in all areas and stages of activity and discussion, from open tenders for public projects to accountability in government departments, agencies, and the selection process for student scholarships. Implementing a more open and flexible labor market in Malaysia not only provides jobs for foreigners but also plays a vital role in creating new business opportunities and employment for Malaysians, including regional and global roles. By adopting this approach, we can

retain top Malaysian talent.