There is nothing wrong with those who choose to stay overseas. As highlighted in my view, even my best mate and the best man for my wedding has sown roots in Singapore – I definitely don’t “begrudge” him for that.

To me, do not begrudge them who are justly reaping the fruit of their hard labour and paying back a debt to the hand which fed them. It is very difficult to continue to love your motherland which does not love you in return.

There is nothing wrong with having different philosophies in life and taking the route that best fit those philosophies.

And what facilities (hardware and software) do we have to offer? Besides, what financial package could local varsities offer? Last but not least, the factor of critical mass. Can someone find the like-minded colleague to pursue what he is researching right now?

I have heard those “Malaysia Truly Asia” commercials on CNN over and over. I always felt the slogan was rather fishy. But you have supplied important details about matters that I only had a vague awareness of.

Why don’t you do something to challenge the slogan? After all, Malaysia is discriminating against people of the two main nations in Asia, China and India. How dare the Malaysia government claim to represent the true Asia?

There is a theory say that Malaysia may suffer in 50 years time because all the best brains will leave the country once and for all because of the affirmative policies. Brain drain still takes place even today and tomorrow, and forever as long as the government protect particular industry and particular race.

If the theory is correct (time will tell), then the so-called world class universities will stay as dream forever. To be world class, there should be 100% open policy with fair play field.

To sum up the things, the affirmative policies should go. However it won’t take place very soon or even be forever.

Bolehland is still in denial syndrome.

Each year, Singapore attracts hundreds of our brightest and best.

Even my malay friends advise me not to go back Malaysia after completing my PhD here. It is a well-known fact that no matter how hard they strive, they will never be able to go to the top.

This comes from the horse mouth of a group of foreign experts and researchers in my university. Just feel a bit embarrass when they told me this. But have to admit. After all, it is the truth, nothing but the truth.

Meritocracy in Malaysia? We must be in the land of fantasy! With the present socio-political status quo, Vision 2020 is nothing but a mere mirage.

Why is that so? Because it is creating a mediocre-minded culture that drives away excellent-minded non-malays and malays.

Can you work in an environment where merit is not rewarded?

As long as the shameless, blatant policy of rewarding only the mediocre, and denying opportunities to the best, based merely on one race and religion, the obviously myopic leaders of this country are ensuring that this country will go down to the dogs in the not too distant future.

The standard of English language in Malaysia going down to the dogs is one fine example of our leaders myopic policies.

A lot of things change for those who leave. Once you are in Singapore, much pressure is “applied” to keep you there.

The programs in Singapore are structured in such a way to make sure that the “immigrants” would stay after completing their studies. Many take up Singaporean citizenship after many years of contemplation and agony.

This normally happens after one finds his/her spouse. Practical considerations come in; idealism flies away.

These “Malaysians” never forget their Malaysians past. But as the days, weeks, months, years go by, they slowly lose their Malaysians and become one of those floating masses in the global village. (I have met Malaysians of this kind in all sorts of odd places in different parts of the world.)

Make no mistake – however – most of them are very successful.

The malays do not live in this country alone. Malaysia is made up of all the races. Everybody looks the same when they send out the tax forms. In fact, our economy will be doomed if one of the component of our multi-racial society suddenly vanished.

Our overseas brains refuse to come back. Capable brains here not valued and they want to leave. The rotting education system stops producing capable brains. Overseas countries are “fishing” for smart brains worldwide. Added together……….you get the brain drain effect.

Unless there is a structural change in our mindset to set things right, we will continue talking about the same thing for the next 100 years.

All of them were Chinese. Reason for rejection is unknown. Certainly it is unfair to blame everything unjust in Malaysia on racism. But I cannot be helped and think that racism is the only explanation that I could cite for this blatantly biased situation.

Many of those rejected top students filed an appeal and some managed to get what they deserved, while others could only sigh in frustration and continue crying out loud, and grabbing more attention in the national media.

Malaysia and Singapore have been competing against each other for years. It does not take a PhD to tell which country is making better progress over the other. While Singapore is aggressively building up its talent pool and making quiet efforts while ‘paddling fiercely under the water’, the Malaysia government is complacent enough to allow brain drain and declare to the world that it aspires to turn itself into a knowledge-based economy concurrently.

It seems to me that the Malaysian leaders do not understand that the simplest idea is often the best solution.

In my opinion, this simplest idea is to capture the right people and nurture them into the leaders of tomorrow for the country. Unfortunately, politics and money have blinded the very people who are behind the nation’s education system.

We Malaysians don’t have a competitive, fair and transparent education system. We Malaysians don’t have a government committing its full support for the nation’s deserving bright people. We Malaysians don’t have a Malaysia for Malaysians.

Now, what is the next best thing to do when the country that you love and respect denies you an opportunity to make contributions? I say, have love and respect for yourself and move to a place where talents are well-appreciated.

I would weep and at the same time say goodbye.

The brain drain that Malaysia is experiencing, Singapore is also experiencing. Malaysians or Singaporeans, all those who can fulfill the criteria for emigration (not “migration” – that term is used for birds, not people) to the EU, UK or US will go there if they so desire.

Except Malaysia also faces a brain drain in the direction of Singapore, whereas Singapore faces no such drainage in the direction of Malaysia!

All the non-malay Malaysians who can afford it send their children here to study to avoid the corrupt and racist education system in their own country. Malaysia is so much bigger than Singapore, so many different regions – so how come Malaysians need to come here at all?

Why are you here, instead of somewhere in your lush and plentiful land?

Two of my best friends are Malaysians Singapore PR working in Singapore. They looked at me in horror when I asked them if they’d ever thought of going back to live and work in Malaysia!

Even a weekend spent visiting their folks back home leaves them rushing back across the causeway in relief.

Malaysia has a larger workforce and so many natural resources. Singapore has so few assets and is just a miserable dot on a map. Yet Singapore has progressed faster and is wealthier than Malaysia (e.g. the currency stronger, the standard of living is leaps and bounds better here, etc).

It may happen, but it is going to take absolutely ages for Malaysia to catch up, let alone do so much better (would be like Africa catching up with Europe) that it is worth the while for Malaysians Singapore PR to go back kampung!

If Singapore dies, it will be most likely due to China snatching all our Singapore business. In which case, China will also snatch all of Malaysia’s business.

I am an engineer. Like architect and other parties, we design and built houses based on the developer’s vision and decision. If the house is very small, poor design, bad finishes but still at an unreasonable high price, I will walk away.

I will advice my friends not to buy it, based on my professional experience and some logic, it is not that difficult, really. But it is their money, they have the freedom to decide what they wanted to do with it.

But believe it or not, someone will still stay there. Can’t even afford to buy, consider lucky if they are able to clear the monthly rental.

And I have some malay friends, thinking of emigrating, mainly because most Muslims here didn’t see things the way they saw it, especially on the religion matters. Oh yes, some perceptions never really change throughout the years.

Once a while I will still welcome my uncle from Australia to visit us here. He is one lucky emigrant, I guess, he is well taken care over there.

All this while I think many of us are dying to go to Australia, Europe, the US, for a better future……….

In Singapore, it is fast and efficient to get a permanent resident. In fact, foreigners in Singapore are invited to become permanent citizens. Here Malaysia, it take years and years and years and……….to even be considered to become a permanent citizen. I heard of foreigner whose application was lost and had to resubmit. How is that?

The person who is researching into getting water for Singapore is a Malaysian. The head of parapsychology in Cambridge is a Malaysian. The best doctor(s) in the world is Malaysian(s).

It is very sad, it is so sad to see Malaysia brightest minds are all over the world except Malaysia.

Yet, they are nowhere near Malaysia.

Another brilliant Malaysian got scared off by the Malaysia government. Just had a long distance phone conversation with my Malaysian friend who is now pursuing his PhD in civil engineering in the UK.

According to him, he sees no more hope and future in Malaysia and totally ruled out the chance of ever returning, except for the occasional visits to relatives and friends.

Kudos to Umno government. When it comes to scaring off all the brilliant brains out of the country, you are clearly a master at it.

I have finally come to enlightenment. If you argue with a fool, it ends up two fools are arguing. When I have done with my business here in Malaysia, I will be packing up for emigration.

I may end up as a second class citizen. Who cares? Since when are we treated like a Bangsa Malaysia anyway after 50 years of independence? I have nothing to lose but everything to gain.

Don’t slog and waste your life away in Malaysia. You will never be appreciated. Leave if you can!

The chance of us succeeding given our handicaps was never good and will never be good. It begins with poor politics, then poor government, then poor education, and then poor business environment (e.g. small market).

What is remarkable to me is that some people have managed to make good money and build companies despite our problems – Mobif, Jobstreet, Green Packet, etc. These people proof that the government is more in the way for developing the industry than helping it.

In fact, the government would do better to get out of the way rather actually have any sort of grand plan like MSC. The real only way the government can help is by having open competitive bidding in government procurement of IT and putting competent people in charge of that.

Nothing else they do would really mean anything much. I would argue all the spending on grand projects, computer labs, computer courses etc, amount to basically waste.

There is no hope of the MSC really succeeding, but we can still benefit from better IT and that perhaps is, would be better because at least it means less waste.

The truth is there – it is no real strategy. MSC was never a great idea – it was an opportunity for government spending more than anything else and as Bill Gates told us very politely, it would not work because of that.

A couple of years ago, there was this idea of attracting Malaysians overseas to come back to run Malaysia GLCs. Among my extensive overseas network of business and personal associates abroad, they discussed it and unanimously shot down the idea.

The reason? Quote: “Smart people can’t stand inconsistencies in fact they rely on it. Malaysia politics make things too inconsistent to do the kind of work they do.”

You want to know why they will never attract the best in public service? At one time, we all agreed what the future of Malaysia was and will always be – secular, rule of law, multiracial, meritocracy. Today, even among those in power, there is no agreement on these basic things.

Why would the best people subject themselves to these inconsistencies? Maybe naivety but how long will that last and how many?

For every one brain that comes in, fifty brains will leave the country. With the affirmative policies in place, do not talk about attracting the brain. For decades, Malaysia was losing its best peoples to developed countries and taking rejects from developing countries.

Please forget about bring back those lost brains, while we can keep those bright students now and love them and care for them!

First, the government and country has to figure out what it want to be first before it can really retain the best, otherwise we are merely exploiting those who do not have better choices elsewhere.

I still remember of my junior wanted to serve in our Malaysia air force and he was able to design war fighters, but instead he was not retained, he headed south Singapore and he was happily married down there, has a happy family and no way back!

People with the best brains inadvertently mean they know how to think. Therefore they are wise enough not to choose Malaysia as their destination, as it could spell disaster to their reputation as we work differently. Singapore will still be the ideal landing point of such calibre people.

Malaysia will forever be suffering from a massive “brain drain” so long as the Umno-led government keeps in place the malay agenda. To forego the agenda is too costly sacrifice which the Umno malays cannot make. A clear symptom of an inferiority complex.

Nice speech there……….Did Singapore pay you for that? Because you are encouraging people to go to Singapore and never look back.

You will see an exodus of people going to Singapore and Singapore will thank Malaysia for being the surrogate mother for 12 years (free education from Standard 1 – Form 6).

Singapore is not a natural country but man-made, a trading post the British has developed into a nodal point in their worldwide maritime empire – they inherited the island without its hinterland, like a heart without a body. Don’t get me? Ok.

Managing Singapore is easy? You must be kidding me. Try to read up on the history of Singapore when they first leave Malaysia to go their own way with no signposts to their next destination.

They had to build up an army from scratch, and the British had made no offer to help. They need to prevent massive unemployment when British wanted to pull out. No financial centre at the beginning, messed up the general election, the communist self-destruct was even scary……….

My history probably get the facts wrong, but what I know is that the Singapore we see today – modern, rich, shining was a colony, decrepit, poor once.

The Chinese and Indians have been in Malaysia for more than a hundred years but still some people think they are second class immigrants, not even full fledged citizens.

Let me ask you a question. If you say that the other races are second class, why collect the same amount of taxes from them? Why not has a separate taxing system for the different races? If a race contributes more to the country income, I can understand if the government decides to give that race special privileges and rights.

Otherwise, it is a silly policy that will make us lose out in the global competitive environment. How do you compete with another country, say Singapore, when you have a steady decline of human resources (the educated and technical population) to the other country? Singapore become first world within one generation. Where are we now?

It seems that they are contented by the fact that we are the leader of third world countries. Nothing to be proud of – actually – but that is their mentality……….

To be honest, I rather see Malaysia economic die than see people been unequal because of their race. Most of us here are eligible to vote, so say no to Umno and their BN bullshit. MCA, MIC are Umno’s puppet.

Show me a malay who has more than 9 A1s in SPM who was turned away in his application for scholarship, and I will show you 20 non-malays in the same situation.

I wish the pro-malay special rights people could step into a non-malay shoe for one day and taste life in Malaysia.

I will just leave. Sooner or later, they are going to realize the massive brain drain – in fact they already have.

It is like Australia is some paradise island or something. I know that Melbourne is one of the most livable places in the world, but a statistic like that can by no means cause the mass migration that I noticed.

The Malaysia government has this program called – Malaysia my second home. It is to attract retired whites to settle to Malaysia and bring their money with them. Sadly, Malaysia doesn’t seem homely enough for the Chinese.

They have always complained about the brain drain. They whine that Singapore is stealing all the Malaysia talent. Now with entire families moving out, it is not only brain drain, it is capital drain. They really should find out how much money has been sucked to Australia in the past 10 years. It will probably run in the tens of millions.

Can they stop this? No. It just cannot be done. Until the government stops treating the Chinese like second class citizens, it will not happen.

Quote: “You go to Singapore, a couple of ministers there are from Penang. In Hong Kong, a number of advisers to the government are from Penang, and in China, some of the best managers are from Penang. Penang is supports the world!”

It is all about Singapore, Hong Kong and China but not Malaysia. So, prove to me that this is not “brain drain”.

Brain drain is part and parcel of Malaysia. Things are not going improve, at least at the rate we are going. Welcome to Bolehland. We can!

I hope to see some progress in our country heading towards a mainly two-party system like in the US, UK and Australia. But the opposition parties must get their act together; and the people too must get wiser.

The big bad world of globalisation has descended on us like a tsunami. We still want to walk with crutches. The competition now come from China, not the local Chinese badly represented by the MCA; from the Indians from the near continent, not from the local Indians doubly badly represented by the MIC.

At the end of the day, stop complaining too much, for you – the voters – put the government there. You finally deserve the government you get – complacent, arrogant, and not accountable.

Otherwise, why do 21st century so-called leaders want to revive the NEP, an instrument of the 1979s – 1990s that had proven to be not effective? Don’t we learn from the history and current developments?

I too, used to think that all is rosy and happy in Malaysia. But as each year passes, I find out more and more disturbing things happening in my beloved country.

Yes, mostly resulting in a more cynical outlook, with some youths turning even desperate and then like “opting” out of the system, or slightly better for some lucky ones, staying back in a foreign land, because “my government seems to be taking actions to drive us away”.

What a sad refrain, and the government laments – sincerely? Brain drain – I personally know many of such youths parents have chosen to “opt out” of the political arena. Sad. Tragic but true.