For as long as one can remember, the previous Barisan Nasional government didn’t care if smart people decided to pack their bags. There were at least 10,000 Malaysians of various ethnic background migrated to Australia in 2016. In June 2014, there were already a staggering 154,000 Malaysia-born in Australia. But Australia wasn’t the only attraction to Malaysian top brains.
More than 300,000 people walk between Malaysia and Singapore every day. Malaysian Chinese made up 37.2% of the population in 1957, when the country achieved independence. However, by 2013, the ethnic Chinese population shrunk to just 24%. The already marginalised and discriminated Chinese population was estimated to drop further to below 20% by 2030.
A study by World Bank in 2011 showed that up till 2010, close to 1-million Malaysian Chinese had emigrated to other countries, with 57% of them moving to Singapore. Malaysia’s loss is Singapore’s gain, as the tiny dot happily welcoming the Malaysian Chinese talents – already moulded and shaped to survive – with open arms.
It wasn’t a joke when Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng (then Penang Chief Minister) said that Singapore will collapse if Malaysia “sabotages” the country by simply enticing the Malaysians working in Singapore back to Malaysia. Some 40% of doctors in Singapore are Malaysians. Do you know Khaw Boon Wan, the Chairman of ruling PAP party and Transport Minister was born in Penang?
The Chinese community, of course, is known to be very enterprising and hard-working thus can survive practically anywhere globally. Throw them into a harsh environment such as Malaysia, where the minority was constantly treated as punching bag, discriminated and intimidated by the racist and corrupted Barisan Nasional regime, and you’re looking at polished diamonds.
Mahathir Mohamad, the world’s oldest prime minister at the advanced age of 93, is on his 2-day official visit to Singapore, during which he will join nine other heads of government for the 33rd ASEAN Summit. He knew all the past mistakes that he had done during his first time serving as prime minister from 1981 to 2003. Well, at least he appears to be sorry for one huge mistake.
That mistake was not being appreciative of Malaysian talents, especially the ethnic Chinese. During a high-tea with Malaysians living in Singapore at the Shangri-La Hotel, Mahathir has again called on Malaysians abroad to return home to contribute towards the development of the country. In August, he also made the same plea during his 3-day visit to China.
There are about 14,000 Malaysians residing in China, mostly businessmen and students. Obviously, PM Mahathir was targeting Malaysian Chinese when he urged Malaysians abroad to return home while visiting China and Singapore. Unlike his first stint as prime minister where he disregarded top brains, Mahathir now looks quite desperate for the ethnic Chinese overseas to come back.
The fact that he promises to fix obstacles, including the requirements involving the Malay language, goes to show that the new Pakatan Harapan government will be different from the old Barisan Nasional regime. Sacrificing the “supremacy” of Malay language is a sensitive issue which could lead to political suicide for ordinary politicians. But Mahathir is no ordinary politician.
The premier also realizes that the country’s education system is very much screwed up. Hence, he revealed that he had asked Education Minister Maszlee Malik to overhaul the school curriculum – “The current education system is bad. It needs to be revolutionised. What they learn (now) is not what they should learn. We need to change the curriculum and timetable and what they learn in school.”
Promising to fix Malay language requirement and school curriculum, two of some critical issues affecting the ethnic Chinese professionals overseas from returning home are the clearest sign that Mahathir seriously wants to reverse the decades old issue of brain drains, which unfortunately, he was part of during his administration from 1981 to 2003.
He also praised billionaire Robert Kuok’s contribution to the country. Mahathir said – “Today, Kuok is a very successful international player, but he has not forgotten that he made his first million in Johor. When we asked him to come back to rehabilitate the country, he willingly came back to sit on the Council of Eminent Persons. He has contributed in positive ways and we are grateful to him.”
Mahathir’s song of praise for Kuok was a stark difference from the previous Prime Minister Najib Razak and UMNO warlord Nazri Aziz. Before the May 9th general election, Nazri rudely mocked and insulted the Hong Kong-based tycoon as a “coward with no testicles.” Nazri had also demanded billionaire Kuok to surrender his Malaysian citizenship for allegedly supporting the opposition.
The disgraced Najib Razak had condemned Robert Kuok, arguing that despite the Chinaman’s hard work; it was the government who made him the “Sugar King”. Essentially, Kuok must only support the Barisan Nasional government and cannot support, let alone fund the opposition parties. Najib’s attack on Kuok had further disgusted the Chinese community, sending his government packing instead.
Today, Najib Razak and his family members have been slapped, or about to be charged, with dozens of criminal breach of trust (CBT), money laundering and abuse of power. Badass Nazri Aziz, on the other hand, has been busy sucking up to the new government especially PM-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim – hoping that his family will not suffer the same fate as his former boss Najib.
Regardless whether Mahathir has genuinely repented his past mistakes or merely pretending to attract Malaysian Chinese living abroad, the fact remains that the community has never felt more welcomed and appreciated than after the May 9th general election. The country is in a mess after heavily looted, plundered and raped by crooked Najib and his minions.
Therefore, Mahathir needs all the top brains he could get to rejuvenate and make Malaysia a tiger again. More importantly, he needs more Chinese because they have been the most loyal and biggest group of tax payers. Previously, he admitted that 90% of the personal income tax which the government collects is paid by the Chinese, despite them being the minority in the country.
Yes, unlike the minority Chinese, the majority – ethnic Malay – has the option of paying “zakat” as an alternative to income tax. The zakat paid will go to the Islamic cause while the tax the Chinese pay goes to paying the salaries of the 1.6 million civil servants, who happens to be mostly Malays. That’s what the defeated UMNO cybertroopers, propagandists and bloggers are preaching to sabotage the country.
Still, after decades of discrimination, it’s only fair for Malaysians residing overseas – especially the professionals – to adopt a wait-and-see strategy. No doubt this is a chicken-and-egg situation. Mahathir government has to proactively change its unfair and discrimination policies first before confidence can be instilled – that the new Malaysia is indeed a better Malaysia.
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