Brain Drain : Government Not Serious
In The Star,
The above letter demonstrates a frustration that is not uncommon among talented Malaysians. Despite lamenting on the problems of brain drain, serious initiative from the Government is sorely lacking. Many experts in their respective fields are leaving Government service and even the country due to lack of incentive and basic appreciative gestures from the Government. For example, the Government is trying to woo specialist doctors from overseas but at the same time, expand little effort in keeping existing specialists from leaving.
The Government needs to look more seriously into this matter. Policies from top politicians are not filtering down to the managerial level in the civil service. It needs to adapt itself to the current trend of globalisation where protectionist policies are bound to backfire. The Government also has to stop spoonfeeding certain quarters. It is only creating a generation of pampered and lazy workforce.
I am sure bright individuals like Toh will be plying their trade elsewhere. There is little point in remaining at a place where blatant discrimination is practiced and its inability to recognise talent is its forte!
| In need of JPA loan for postgrad studies abroad I just graduated from Universiti Malaya with a degree in Civil Engineering. Having graduated top of my class with three awards presented to me during the recent convocation, I am about to embark on my postgraduate studies in one of the best universities in the world – Imperial College London. Unfortunately, I have failed to secure a study loan for my fees from the Public Service Department, the reason being that loans are not given for postgraduate studies. I am not even asking for a scholarship, and even with the loan given, I still have to bear the cost of living in London. This clearly shows the Government does not appreciate talent. Is this how it plans to deal with the serious problem of brain drain? TBC Taiping, Perak |
The above letter demonstrates a frustration that is not uncommon among talented Malaysians. Despite lamenting on the problems of brain drain, serious initiative from the Government is sorely lacking. Many experts in their respective fields are leaving Government service and even the country due to lack of incentive and basic appreciative gestures from the Government. For example, the Government is trying to woo specialist doctors from overseas but at the same time, expand little effort in keeping existing specialists from leaving.
The Government needs to look more seriously into this matter. Policies from top politicians are not filtering down to the managerial level in the civil service. It needs to adapt itself to the current trend of globalisation where protectionist policies are bound to backfire. The Government also has to stop spoonfeeding certain quarters. It is only creating a generation of pampered and lazy workforce.
I am sure bright individuals like Toh will be plying their trade elsewhere. There is little point in remaining at a place where blatant discrimination is practiced and its inability to recognise talent is its forte!
1 Comments:
FROM TBC (author of the letter)
The existence of this article in the web came as a
surprise to me, and the comments that comes with it
certainly left me somewhat uncomfortable.
I feel I need to further point out that
1. IC is highly ranked in Engineering - the best
engineering school in the UK and Europe. (Oxford and
Cambridge are nowhere near the level of expertise in
Engineering as compared to IC). Also, Oxford and
Cambridge do not offer taught Masters in Structural
Engineering that I intended to pursue. I only chose to
pursue my studies with the best.
2. I only applied to JPA loan when all else failed
(Multinationals rejected my applications because they
do not fund postgraduate studies). I did not want the
JPA scholarship because I do not want to be bonded to
the Government. I would rather pay back the loan after
I finish my studies in exchange for having the
flexibility to work somewhere else outside the
country.
3. Also, there are things I know that it might not be
appropriate to point it out here or anywhere else.
4. I was having financial difficulty at that point
because my parents had to fund my sister's medical
studies abroad as well, AGAIN because of the way the
Malaysian education system works.
I thank Dr Cheah for his supportive comments and
website. I did manage to get by (carefully controlling
my expenses) in the UK fully supported by my parents.
Currently, I am working in London.
TBC
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