Talent Corporation - looking for horses after they have bolted

From a layman's point of view, our government seems unwilling to provide scholarships to excellent students based on meritocracy, regardless of race. Every year, we have stories of students with excellent results complaining they have not been selected for scholarships or places in our institutions of higher learning.

Surely, if we are serious in overcoming this problem of brain drain, we should look at the root causes and try to solve the problems, instead of looking out for them and trying to entice them back. Many of those who left for overseas did so by choice (if they could afford it) or forced to find alternative ways to look for opportunities overseas since none was available to them. Under such circumstances, would they be willing to come back knowing full well how they will be discriminated against in employment, business or research in Malaysia? Unless and until our system is conducive to meritocracy and equal opportunities, initial incentives might look attractive but will not be good enough in the long run.

Singapore has been attracting Malaysian brains for years with their Asean and other scholarships with examinations conducted in Malaysia for those interested. After education, the graduates invariably work for Singapore, contributing to their brain gain at our expense. Why can't we offer similar scholarships on merit, followed by good employment opportunities? Is it so difficult to implement such a simple concept? I know, I know, we have to think of race and superiority.

Even at post-graduate level, there are opportunities to tap into students who need financial help to do Masters or Ph. D and it is a question of offering and publicising the scholarships available.

I am prompted by the following article which appeared in Kit Siang for Malaysia:

Ipoh born, Cambridge educated, Malaysia’s loss, Singapore’s gain
By Mariam Mokhtar

http://blog.limkitsiang.com/2010/10/20/ipoh-born-cambridge-educated-malaysia%E2%80%99s-loss-singapore%E2%80%99s-gain/

In fact, we do have facilities preparing students for Cambridge, Oxford and other universities, but what seems lacking is the availability of enough government scholarships to meet the demand of those who qualify:

Kolej Yayasan UEM:

http://www.kyuem.edu.my/v2/whykyuem.php

Before we embark on prestigious projects like 100-storey Warisan Merdeka, a look at a typical young Malaysian worker's lifestyle and see if we should instead look after their interests as priority:

From Loyarburok: A Young Malaysian's Dilemma:

http://www.loyarburok.com/human-rights/express-yourself/a-young-malaysians-dilemma/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed:+Loyarburok+(LoyarBurok)

Najib's famous 'change your lifestyle' comes to mind. How could someone who has been travelling in a motorcade with police outriders for 30 years know how ordinary Malaysians live?

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