Saturday, May 21, 2011

Some thoughts on the Malaysia brain drain

I've wanted to write something for quite a long time but each time I sit in front of the computer I end up getting distracted. My mom also doesn't like me writing. Like quite a few mums I know, she thinks writing is unproductive and useless. Some people might find this shocking, but might I gently remind you about cultural dissonance.
            Reading an email recently, the author mentioned how in his class in America, people were horrified when he gave his opinion that some countries deserved to lose their talented people. Personally, I think in these cases, its very hard to judge the speaker or his listeners. Perhaps they feel that it is an injustice that developing countries be denied the chance to grow. Yet they don't know what it is like to grow up thinking about leaving, not just a small town but the country in general.
          Here in Malaysia, things don't look very rosy. It is disconcerting to see the politicians playing up racial issues. It is polarizing the people when what Malaysia needs is unity in order to progress. Young and naive as most of us young people are, the fact that the politicians are only interested in safeguarding their own interests and bank account is pretty evident. Most of us are uninterested in politics because we feel it is boring, dirty and has nothing to do with us. Still, things do trickle down to us. Especially when our parents encourage to leave and never come back.
         I come from an "immigrant family", being the third generation to live on this blessed shore. I hear lots of rumors amongst the community about various injustices inflicted. Scholarship applications rejected, places in university programs denied, marking standards brought up and down in public exams, all based on the colour of ones skin. In front of my eyes, I see people leaving for the greener grass on the other side.
        People never change. The only things that change is the setting and the knowledge gained. Basic human behaviour is still the same. What people want, is a chance to make a living, a roof over their heads and protection from being exploited. If they can't get what they want here, they simply move. Of course, the more patriotic people may choose to take up arms but Malaysians are a notoriously apathetic lot. We dislike violence and prefer to avoid confrontation. So we pack our bags and get out as soon as our finances allow it.
          I love Malaysia but I can't help but get the feeling that it doesn't love me. One-sided relationships are very trying on a person, you know. So I'm another young person who will get on a plane once I have the money and probably never come back. It does pain me to leave a place I love, to leave behind familiarity for a stranger's land. But I have to think of myself. I have to do what's best for me. I will have to leave someday.

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