Lack of meritocracy among top reasons why Malaysians emigrate
Published on: Tuesday, February 21, 2023
By: FMT
Deputy human resources minister Mustapha Sakmud says many professionals are frustrated by the need to use connections for career progression.
PETALING JAYA: The lack of meritocracy in the workplace is among the top three reasons why Malaysians are choosing to migrate and work abroad, says a deputy minister.
Deputy human resources minister Mustapha Sakmud said this was part of the “social injustice” in the workplace, with professionals apparently frustrated by the need to use connections for career progression.
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Mustapha told NST that better career prospects and remuneration were the other two reasons why Malaysians were seeking to work abroad.
“Developed countries have better laws that protect their workers’ rights from any discrimination, and also provide better salaries.
“They are based on meritocracy, unlike in our ecosystem, which is sometimes based on connections or who you know,” he said, adding that he had also experienced “social injustice” in the past.
Mustapha also acknowledged that low wages in Malaysia were driving people to migrate, pointing out that an engineer’s salary had not increased by much in the past 30 years.
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He said his son, having first worked as an engineer in 1993 earning RM1,800 a month, was now earning merely RM2,300.
“Can you imagine, in the span of almost 30 years, the increment has been so minimal. How can we expect to retain our professionals?”
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He said Singapore had the highest number of Malaysian workers with nearly one million, followed by Australia, the US, the UK and Canada. Most of them were professionals in sectors like oil and gas, power, financial services and sales.
He said his ministry’s data showed that many of those who migrated had trouble finding work in Malaysia. While the trend of Malaysians moving abroad was in decline, he said, the number of Malaysians returning home was “almost non-existent”.
Mustapha said Putrajaya was aiming to at least draw those in their 50s to return to Malaysia and contribute to the nation’s development with their expertise and talent.
“Obviously, we can’t match their current income. But we do know that people in this age range typically would want to come back and contribute their expertise.
“We are far behind, even at the Asean level. I am asking professionals who are currently living abroad to come back and assist us in regaining our status as an ‘Asian Tiger’,” he said.
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