A Malay "Brain Drain"?

On Wednesday, July 11 2007, there was a piece of unusual news in thestar online, unusual because the large number of Malays who have emigrated seems to be bucking the trend in emigration in Malaysia. All these years, Malaysians migrating and giving up their citizenships have been primarily the non-Malays. This time however, from 1996 to April this year, out of some 106,000 Malaysians giving up their citizenships, 70% or about “79,100 were Malays”. Over the 12 year period, about 6,600 Malays surrendered their citizenships a year. Marrying a foreigner was the main reason given by women while most men cited better career opportunities. The preferred top five destinations of these ex-Malaysians were the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia.

Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib said the high number of Malays emigrating was not a cause for concern. He explained that the need to “move around and see places” was in their blood as their forefathers were seafarers.

“In a sense, the Malays are just doing what their forefathers did. Travel and see the world. Venture into new areas and the unexpected,” he said.

He further said that Malaysian non-Malays have also been leaving the country and giving up their citizenships and therefore it “should not be an issue”.

The emigration of the Malays raises a few interesting questions:
Who are these Malays who emigrated? What are their educational profiles?

What is the percentage of women and men who emigrated as a result of marrying foreigners?

What is the percentage of women and men who emigrated as a result of better career opportunities in other countries?

Were there any other reasons as to why they decided to emigrate?

It is interesting to note that out of the top five destinations, two have a predominant Chinese population while the other, Indonesia, is hardly a country which one would choose to emigrate to if one has a choice.

Why would these Malays, presumably highly educated and occupationally mobile leave their homeland for countries like the United States and Australia since these are the two popular countries after discounting Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia?

Why would they leave their homeland when their opportunities for advancement are bright given the political and economic conditions that favour their advancement?

Tan Sri Muhammad’s explanation raises more questions than answers as to why the Malays are willing to give up their citizenships.

Indeed, not only Tan Sri himself would like to know the reasons why, Malaysians in general too would also like to know why they were willing to leave.

Is Malaysia experiencing a Malay “brain drain”?

The Star online report:

Wednesday July 11, 2007

No getting back citizenship

if you give it up

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS

PUTRAJAYA: Think hard and long before giving up your citizenship.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi warned that Malaysians who did so could not hope to get it back again.

“The Home Affairs Ministry has made a decision to allow citizens to surrender their citizenship. The ministry has its own reasons to give their approval for this.

“However, there is one thing that Malaysians must know and which I want to stress here. Those who have given up their citizenship cannot get it back if they suddenly want to become Malaysians again,” he told reporters after the Internal Security Ministry's monthly gathering here yesterday.

According to Deputy Home Affairs Minister Datuk Tan Chai Ho, some 106,000 Malaysians had given up their citizenship between 1996 and April this year.

Of the figure, 70% or 79,100 were Malays, 25,107 Chinese, 1,347 Indians and 350 of other races. Marrying a foreigner was the main reason given by women while most men cited better career options.
The preferred top five destinations of ex-Malaysians were the United States, Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and Indonesia, according to Tan.

Umno information chief Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib said the high number of Malays emigrating was not a cause for concern but it would be good to know why they wanted to leave their homeland.

Muhammad said the need to “move around and see places” was in their blood as their forefathers were seafarers.

“In a sense, the Malays are just doing what their forefathers did. Travel and see the world. Venture into new areas and the unexpected,” he said.

“Individuals of other ethnic groups also emigrated to other countries. Even the Chinese and Indians surrendered their Malaysian citizenship, so it should not be an issue if the Malays did so too,” he added.