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We all know the numbers: 1 million Malaysians live abroad, of which roughly a third have tertiary degrees. They are the swooshing sound of Malaysia’s brain drain, and they’ve washed up as close as Singapore and as far away as Santiago.
But who are they?
Well, I was one. Up until recently, I lived with my American husband and our two young children in the US Midwest. We had a very nice life. The kids routinely introduced themselves as “half-Minnesotan, half-Malaysian.”
We moved back to Kuala Lumpur in 2011. Our American friends thought it was very cool that the kids would experience life in a faraway country. From our Malaysian friends, the reactions ranged from “Why, ah?” to “Are you stupid/crazy?”
The fact is we moved back for the most pedestrian of reasons – my parents were getting older, my brother had just married – and after almost half a lifetime of being away, it felt like time to be around for a while.
Moving home – with its joys and frustrations – got me thinking about the diaspora. A million Malaysians. Who are we? What are our lives like? What do we want? And why aren’t we talking to each other?
A little over a year ago, I started a website to try to kick-start that conversation. The name – www.Outstation.my – came over a brainstorming cup of coffee with Jahabar Sadiq, a Malaysian journalist who moved home from Jakarta to edit the themalaysianinsider.com , and Poh Si Teng, a Malaysian multi-media journalist now with the New York Times.
The tagline: For Malaysians Abroad, Returnees and Everyone In-Between.
Why Outstation? Because a Malaysian in Milan or Melbourne is still a Malaysian at heart. They’re just, you know….outstation.
Malaysia’s anti-brain drain agency, TalentCorp, kicked in some advertising dollars, with no strings attached. To their credit, I never heard a complaint, not even when we launched Outstation with beautiful pictures of Bersih protests around the world.
Outstation’s first year has been a blast.
Malaysians Choy Leow in Minneapolis and Meera Feldberg in Washington, D.C. wrote about what it felt like to vote for the first time in the US presidential elections. K., a Malaysian who moved home with his English husband, told us how he found a new generation of gay-friendly Malaysians, yet struggles to tell his own mother.
Ahead of this year’s Malaysian election, Ai Leen Lim in London wrote a popular, irreverent postal voting blog, “Going Postal.”
What’s this all for?
The goal is not to persuade people to move back. Or away. They’re going to do it anyway.
It’s to get people talking about their experiences, motivations, hopes and dreams, for themselves and for Malaysia. So we can see new possibilities for our own lives and for the country we love.
And we’ll see where that leads us.
Chen May Yee is a journalist and founder of www.Outstation.my. Write to her at [email protected]. Join the Outstation community and get updates by clicking “Like” on https://www.facebook.com/
Just read your article with interest. I’m a brit, and have been happily living and working in education, in Malaysia, for the past 32 years. I recently got a 10 year chop with Talentcorp, which could not have been easier or more straightforward. Tip top organisation. I have many talented Malaysian friends, of all races, who have emigrated, and now in very successful careers in the UK, US, Australia and NZ. I think your comments very much echo their feelings;once Malaysian always Malaysian. But to entice them back is easier said than done. Recent bad political press, and the increase in crime doesn’t help. On the other hand, life here is laid back, very convenient, and of course comparatively much cheaper. I guess the old addage “the grass is always greener on the other side of the hill” rings true. I come over here, they want to go over there. We are never satisfied with what we have, and always looking for something more. The only people who do seem to be happy are the airlines, flying us all in or out.
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“we are never satisfied with what we have and always looking for something more”
Chris Frankland, you hit the nail on the head. And that’s okay, of course. Human nature. What I get irritated with are the stereotypes of Malaysians abroad (traitors!) and those who stay (must be stupid or a crony). We all need to talk to each other and get past this.
Glad you had a good experience with TalentCorp. I think they’re good people with maybe the toughest job in the country.
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Calling someone a Traitor presupposes dat person enjoyed all the rights & privileges of Citizenship, which is clearly not the case for Msia’s minorities, & until the day ALL Msians are treated equally, nothing TalentCorp does will seriously impact on the Brain Drain.
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a major reason why so many malaysians seem to be persist staying abroad in places like silicon valley, wall street and around cambridge’s harvard-MIT nexus are the lack of readymade opportunities to pursue the work found in stratified economies like the US… and then there’s the political stalemate that’s way past time in being resolved, as Najib and Badawi themselves admit have much to do with their own party’s truculence. And no, those abroad aren’t just non-Malays – it’s one reason why Raya feasting is becoming such a big deal round here in the US!
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Talentcorp… did someone say Talencorp? A bunch of twenty something and early thirties sons of connected cronies, given a carte blanc budget to throw “info” parties around the world.
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TalentCorp is fighting a losing battle if its task is to reverse the significant brain drain in Malaysia. For every Malaysian that it manages to bring home, hundreds head in the opposite direction, pushed out by the present governmental policies that smack of racism.
The far-better solution is to change the minority 47% government into a majority government that does not pander to racism or corruption. Many of us in the Malaysian diaspora would willingly return to help this new government rebuild the nation and restock its talents, without even the need for TalentCorp.
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[…] our piece – – “Behind Malaysia’s Brain Drain, Surprise! Real People,” that ran Sunday in the New Mandala blog, hosted by the Australian National University (ANU) College […]
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There are many well-intentioned, hard-working people in Talentcorp, but their powers are *extremely* limited. To some extent, one could say that they were set up for failure.
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There are 138 reasons why TalentCorp is barking at the wrong tree. Our ultimate goal is to fully utilize the talents we have. What’s the point to ask Michelle Yeo to work in Malaywood?? Our economy will be ruined if 400,000 in Singapore to return to work in Malaysia! What’s wrong with Malaysians working in Silicon Valley, Wall Street, etc.?? Working outside Malaysia is a SOLUTION to a PROBLEM. Tackle the problem, NOT the solution. For example, 138 with excellent STPM results, are denied IPTA placements.
“Handiplast” is no cure to skin cancer, i.e. the politics of race and religion. But thinking outside the box, even better, WORKING OUTSIDE THE BOX may provide relief. If only these 138 see beyond Malaysia. What harm could it be if the PM of Australia were Malaysian-born!?
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Stewolf — interesting point.
Malaysians working abroad is a solution to a problem. What might that ‘a problem’ be. Could ‘a problem’ be ‘THE problem’ or do you think there are many ‘a problem’ in Malaysia?
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Greg, The underlying problem is THE mother load of all problems. I appreciate Najib’s spending political capital and recognizing the brain drain. However, he doesn’t have any to spare even to begin tackling THE problem. So, TalentCorp is basically a public relation exercise. I welcome its funding of Ms Chen’s website.
A fair, free and open employment and business landscape is the ultimate solution. Allowing IPTS and providing student loans can prevent brain drain.
Instead of being a tax money drain, TalentCorp could “work outside the box”, by facilitating local talents to develop and further their career OVERSEA. For example, hooking up local tech upstarts with Silicon Valley venture capitals, and companies like Apple, Google, etc.
Another example, hiring 2,000 English teachers from the U.S., Australia, etc. in exchange for 10,000 three-year working permits for 2,000 graduates and 8,000 low/semi-skilled workers.
A young Malay chap doing back-breaking work in a crew of five, managing 5,000 lambs in rural Australia for two years would have serious impact on Malaysia, for the better.
The right type of “brain drain” could be THE solution to many of our problems. Maybe even THE problem.
An experienced doctor and returnee form the U.K. was denied the chief surgeon promotion because he lacked SPM Malay credit. Can TalentCorp help in cases like these??
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Stewoolf, do you know the returnee doctor? Got contact details? Would like to hear his story. Plse e-mail me at [email protected]
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Please check with the local press. It was widely reported a few years back.
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A country is like a ship and we have to ask ourselves which ship is sinking?
If the underlying is weak , then it is just matter of time the ship will sink.
As our talent slowly ship out so are our underlying strength.
The future is quite bleak , and only time will tell whether we are on the right path to success?
In reality , no one should distort the force of nature.
There is huge consequences for doing that, as the most recent financial crisis shown to us.
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Hi,
I chanced upon your blog and it resonates! I am in the process of publishing my “Migrants’ Thoughts and Tales” about my journey through life from Malaysia to the UK & now Australia – longing for my roots yet dismayed at what the incumbent government has turned Malaysia into!
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