proposal for a global network of malaysians (gnm)

3rd CPPS Malaysian Youth Public Policy Roundtable

CPPS’ 3rd Malaysian Youth Public Policy Roundtable Discussion was held at the Malaysian Houses of Parliament on the 18th of August 2016 and attended by 60 youth leaders. The theme for the day’s discussions was brain drain, with the overarching topic: “The Challenge of Retaining Talent in Malaysia”.

I had the chance to share the stage with my two friends -- youth leader Syed Saddiq and ASLI COO/CPPS Senior Director Ng Yeen Seen. 

I took this opportunity to present a policy proposal for a Global Network of Malaysians (GNM).

Counting the brain drain

• More than 2 million Malaysians have migrated since our nationhood in 1957. Currently, it is estimated over 700,000 to 1 million Malaysian citizens overseas.
• According to the World Bank Report 2011, the top 5 countries Malaysia have migrated to are the following:

1. Singapore (385,000)
2. Australia (101,000)
3. Brunei (76,000)
4. United Kingdom (76,000)
5. United States (65,000)

Highly-educated professional Malaysians are leaving

• According to an updated World Bank Report in 2015, 54.50% of those who migrated are educated. This fact is further buttressed by the Malaysian Digest news portal that almost 1 in every 10 tertiary-educated Malaysian is currently working abroad.
• More alarmingly, 2 out of every 10 Malaysians with tertiary education want to leave for Singapore or Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries such Australia, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Israel, UK and US.
• Over 70% of Malaysian undergraduates want to study overseas and obtain permanent residency (PR) in the UK (50%), US (16%) and Australia (14.4%) according to a 2015 survey by Anderson Market Analytics.
• Even the super-rich Malaysians are leaving. According to the Wealth Report 2016 by Knight Frank, 26% of Malaysians with over US$30 million of investable assets planning to migrate within the next 10 years. This is much higher than the average rate of 16% in the region.

Why are they leaving?

• Why are Malaysians leaving? Going back to the World Bank 2011 Report, the top 3 reasons they are leaving are:

1. Better career prospects (66%)
2. Perceived social injustice (60%)
3. Better compensation in salary and bonus (54%)

• There is a still a debate on the 'brain drain' phenomenon. While some claim it causes labour shortage such in healthcare that causing child mortality in Africa, economists are saying remittance from overseas has contributed to economic growth and poverty reduction in countries like the Philippines. Some economists say 'brain circulation' whereby the return of the talents from overseas has led to more democratisation such as seen in China with its foreign educated citizens pushing for a freer press. 

Not all hope is lost

• I honestly believe you can take a Malaysian out of Malaysia but you cannot take Malaysia out of the Malaysian.
  
• The World Bank 2011 Report reads, “almost half of the Malaysians based overseas who responded to the survey feel a strong sense of attachment to their country” (p 133).
  
• The truth is leaving your country doesn’t make you any less patriotic and staying in your country doesn’t make you any more patriotic. 
• Migration is natural. How many of us have migrated from our hometown to the capital Kuala Lumpur? How many of us have switched jobs? It's part of life.

What can we do? 

• We can learn from case studies in Taiwan, Chile, Israel, India and Italy on how they actively engage and acknowledge their diaspora communities' contribution to their respective countries.
• The voices of the Malaysian diaspora community is equally important as those in the country in the process of nation-building
• Nation-building can be done outside the nation.
  
• There must be a bottom-up initiative to complement Malaysian government's top down approach led by TalentCorp.

Calling for a Global Network of Malaysians (GNM)

• A people’s network of Malaysians overseas to strengthen & reinforce the diaspora’s connection to Malaysia
• We have a network for the diaspora community across the world to be connected and share opportunities and knowledge.
• Malaysians overseas can assist in trade and foreign direct investment (FDI) by connecting us with MNCs and foreigners in their countries. 
• Diaspora community can directly invest in Malaysia through nostalgic products (e.g. nasi lemak, teh tarik) or assist exporters from Malaysia. Don't forget we have many Malaysian-born companies -- San Francisco Coffee, Manhattan Fish Market, Gardenia, Ogawa, British India to name a few. 
• They can even assist in a diaspora investment fund, for example foreign venture capital from Silicon Valley. 
• At the very least, Malaysian overseas can help with knowledge spillovers from business forums and networking events.

Activities
i) Global Malaysian Summit (something like the Global Transformation Forum)
ii) Regional events (e.g. conferences)
iii) Cultural events 

Strategy
We can leverage on a pre-existing network of Malaysian associations and student councils overseas. They can link us with the broader Malaysian community in their respective countries. GNM can act as a coordinator and connector between all the associations.

1. Malaysian Associations Overseas (21 associations)

• 6 in North America
• 10 in Europe
• 1 in Middle East
• 13 in Asia Pacific

2. Malaysian student overseas community 

• Malaysian Students’ Global Alliance (MGSA)
• International Council of Malaysian Scholars and Associates (ICMS)
• United Kingdom and Eire (Ireland) Council of Malaysian Students (UKEC)
• Malaysian Students' Council of Australia (MASCA)
• National Assembly of Malaysian Students in America (NAMSA)
• Malaysian Students Association in France (MASAF)
• Malaysian Students' Association in Japan (MSAJ)

Learning from a failed past attempt

• There was an effort previously by the Global Malaysians Network launched by the Star. It was led by Datuk Ng Poh Tip, Executive Director of Asian Centre for Media Studies.
• It formed chapters in Hong Kong and Australia. However, due to lack of direction and interest, what started in June 2005 quickly fizzled out in early 2006.
• I would like to take a long view on the proposed GNM. A strong network of Malaysians overseas can push for an institution that can formally represent their interests. Overseas constituencies or overseas electoral districts can represent their voices in Parliament. This has been successfully implemented in countries such as Algeria, Croatia, Italy, France and Portugal.
  

You can find the full report of the roundtable below

3rd_cpps_malaysian_youth_public_policy_roundtable_-_report.pdf
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