Malaysians losing faith in Malaysia

The Star on 16th December reported that the MCA President, his Deputy and most of the vice presidents of the MCA visited and paid respects to its founder Tun Sir Tan Cheng Lock. During the visit, he urged Chinese Malaysians to continue to believe in Malaysia and not lose faith. I wonder what prompted that……are Malaysians losing faith in their country???

The next day (17th December) New Straits Times reported that Migration agents are experiencing a sudden surge in enquiries to migrate. One agent reported that before 14th November (read before the UMNO General Assembly), he only received around 20 calls a day..but since then, prospective migrants are ringing non-stop. From the 14th to 19th November (read after the UMNO Assembly), they received a staggering 6,500 calls for Australia alone!!!!!...5,500 for NZ….4,000 for other countries….and 3,500 for other countries…. People are rushing to get out in droves!!!!!

WHY? WHY? WHY?
People are voting with their feet….many believed that there is no future for them in this country….Generally Chinese Malaysians love Malaysia, although their love is expressed in a different way….they are proud of its achievement….that is why only less than 50% of them renounced their citizenship even after decades overseas….Its a love that defies understanding. Maybe, many still believed in the promises of our founding fathers like Tungku Abdul Rahman and Tun Abdul Razak……promises made to secure the acceptance of non-Malays to a new independent Malaya/Malaysia….otherwise the British would have a good excuse to continue to rule a profitable colony for a longer period…maybe up to the 1970’s if they can…like Hong Kong which they retained and tried to keep beyond 1997.

But alas, maybe the Malay proverb rings true “Saperti kacang melupakan kulit”. Proverbs reflects the dominant traits of the culture from which it emerges…. So true that Tun Dr. Mahathir lamented to the Malays assembled at the UMNO General Assembly in 2002 (circa) through a “pantun” (poem), entitled “Melayu mudah lupa.”…..or Malays forgets easily….


How true and tragic for all and MALAYSIA!!!!!
Most non-malay Malaysians have a great sense of being rejected by Malaysia, their own country…..…despite their many and considerable contributions to the country…like Tun Dr. Mahatir once said, take away the non-malay contribution and Malaysia’s GDP would be like that of an African nation…..

Many feel that inspite of their contributions…they had been treated with contempt…most feel that the children of new arrivals from Indonesia are better treated than many of the children of non-malay Malaysians of many generations……


Good Riddance????
Those who migrate are not the young unlike the 1970’s and 80’s….these are most likely the middle aged….people from 35 onwards…people who owned houses…..

Good riddance??? We say??? Or should we reflect and think….or is it an indication of what is to come….Indians leaving Uganda during Idi Amin’s rule…..White South Africans leaving RSA…..Cubans, leaving Cuba after Castro took over…..No loss to the country….more homogeneity in Malaysia???

Can we afford an exodus of experienced and well-trained Malaysians? Australia, NZ or Canada just do not admit any Ah Chong or Samy….these ah Chongs or Samys are professionals or skilled tradesman….the kinds that a country need to leap-frog its GDP and economy to the next level….and these are lost to the country….they are not the ones which Malaysia admits by the hundreds of thousands through its back-door in Sabah…the unskilled labour from Indonesia and Sulu islands….

The sad thing is that many of the Ah Chongs and Samys will not be gainfully employed in their fields of expertise unless of course they are of world renowned….instead they will be in small businesses…maybe selling roti canai..or chow mien..or running post-offices…milk bars ..driving taxis…after the age of 40, it will be very difficult for anybody (migrant or native) to land a job………

New generation…new technologies…making your competitors obsolete
Most ah Chongs or Samys know the fate that awaits them, when they go…yet they do it..because they believe in the new country their children will stand a better chance…be on a level playing field… And their children are the ones that topped the VCE’s the HSC and SAMs in their respective states…going to choiced faculties to do courses they can never expect to get in their home countries….here they have a fighting chance…if they get their grades right.

Their host countries know this, they harvest the best brains, the relatively superior genotypes for their countries….within a generation the standards have gone up…. …”knowledge” economy…..blue ocean strategy….new products ….new technology.

Can Malaysia afford to lose talents and brains ?
Is not as if Malaysia has an abundance of talented and diligent people to spare. These people whether intelligent or not had demonstrated that they were relatively successful…ie. able to rise above despite handicaps….these are the ones that a country or an economy needs to face off the competition from a globalised world…those that have demonstrated their mettle….these are now lost to the country….like negative selection…the good ones or those above average ones leave and the country is left with more and more (in proportion) of the no-so good ones…while our poorer neighbours export their lesser talent, we export our better talents…

Malaysia burns its candles at both ends… and in the minds of many, unspoken thoughts is the question “Is there a future for Malaysia?” Quo vadis, Malaysia?