Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Is The Grass Always Greener On the Other Side? - Who is losing more of its youths to migration, Malaysia or Singapore?

Hantu Laut

So much have been said about Malaysians migrating overseas and why they are leaving the country. Those in the oppositions have made it a political issue as if it is true Malaysia is losing a huge pool of its talents to other countries.

Few Malaysians, unless they are already very rich, and very few would want to migrate to Singapore.Only those who can find good paying job in the city state would consider moving over there and some would apply for permanent residence and keep their Malaysian citizenships. Very small number would take up Singapore citizenships, which is not easy to get,unless you are super brainy or super rich.

Migration?

Their first choice would always be Australia,New Zealand,Canada or the UK, in order of priority. Australia has always been the country of choice for Malaysians, due to its close proximity.

Citizens leaving their country for other nations is not confined to Malaysia alone, even citizens from highly developed nations have left their country for lesser parts of the world.Most migrations were for economic reasons, mainly from poor countries to wealthier nations.The exodus were mostly from Pakistan,India,Bangladesh and poor
African countries.

The Chinese have always been a migrating race.There are an estimated 33 million 'Chinese diasporas' outside China,Taiwan and Hong Kong.It is small compared to the total population of China.After a long period of little international migration from China the 1979 economic reforms has opened a new floodgate of migration primarily to the most developed parts of the world particularly Australasia,North America,Europe and South East Asia.

In spite of the unprecedented economic growth that have grown by leaps and bounds, which have made many Chinese very wealthy and opened doors of opportunity for the Chinese in China, there are still Chinese migrating.The migration flow would continue indefinitely as long as the sense of deprived mentality and persecutions prevail in the the Chinese mindset.

Singapore, a very much more successful economy and a nation where success is measured by the scale of your earnings or the length of your dick have seen increasing number of its citizen migrating overseas, particularly to Australia and New Zealand.

While it has been successful in luring many of the brightest brains from overseas, more and more of its own young professional are leaving.In the last ten years 97,990 Singaporeans left the country.Last year 12,707 Singaporeans asked for documents to apply for permanent residency overseas.Its hot economy has attracted over a million foreigners but on the other hand its own citizens have been leaving in record numbers abroad.

A poll showed that 21 percent of Singaporeans,mainly professionals, were considering emigration, half opting for Australia and New Zealand.A survey showed that almost 37 percent of youths say they are not patriotic.Indian youths are most ready to emigrate at 67 %, compared 60 % of Malays and 49 % of Chinese.

That shows that the Indians and Malays in Singapore felt the same way as the Chinese and Indians in Malaysia felt, a siege mentality.

The departure of these youths has a security dimension for Singapore as they all have been trained under its compulsory national service and the island nation is defended by its reservist soldiers.Their loss means fewer soldiers and the country permanent residents which have been given to many foreigners do not require them to serve in the national service (NS)(only their 18 year old sons are)

The brain drain is serious.

Even if 0.5% of its brightest minds were to leave, it would hit Singapore hard, said Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.

“These are bright young people, children of very well-educated Singaporeans. They study overseas now, and the very good ones are right away green harvested by companies,” Goh said.

To importing large numbers of migrants from China and India, most of them treat it as a study and transit point.

Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew once admitted: “They come in here, they get an English education ? and they're off to America.”

So why is the wealthiest state in this region losing its youths at a higher rate than its poorer neighbours?

Ask Anwar Ibrahim, Lim Kit Siang and Nik Aziz.

They may have the politicised answers.

This article is dedicated to SM, a regular commentator to this blog, who is under the impression that the flights of non-Malays, particularly the Chinese were due to racial discrimination and the NEP.

What are the young Singaporeans running away from? You can read SM's and my comments on the subject here.

9 comments:

FMZam said...

HL,

I find your posting so interestingly boring for I have read almost a similar write up by someone else to wonder how you too could have a similar thinking like him. But since his article was published earlier, then you must be the copy cat. How sickening you to see you stole from others to make your point and you have stolen it from:

Posted on September 6, 2008 by sanooaung

Singaporeans are migrating out!
More are heading north
Star’s INSIGHT DOWN SOUTH By SEAH CHIANG NEE

And HL, you must be good at 'cut and paste' work. You took what you want from the original and then you deleted some points and manipulated it just to make your point. You are stealing and you are the worst of all thieves and I don't think SM needs to answer you anything for you are not an honest blogger.

Any good reason why you did not include this in your stolen words like this one below?:

So why is Asia’s second wealthiest state losing its youths at a higher rate than its poorer neighbours?

“Many Singaporeans leave because of the stifling atmosphere of the country and the political and intellectual lock-step enforced by the government,” said one analyst.
“It would reverse if the government would begin to democratise, and to allow its people to develop their talents – in Singapore, not abroad.”

I dare you you post my comment and with your good answer to my question first before anything else.

Anonymous said...

Hantu;

This is a related article that could be of interest.


http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091103/lf_afp/migrationusafricaasiaeurope_20091103190030


WASHINGTON (AFP) – Some 700 million people worldwide, or more than all the adults of North and South America combined, think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence and want to permanently move to another country, a poll showed Tuesday.

Residents of sub-Saharan African countries were the most likely to want to move abroad permanently, the polls conducted in 135 countries between 2007 and this year by Gallup showed.

On average, 38 percent of the adult population in sub-Saharan Africa, or around 165 million people, said they would up stakes and head for another country if they had the chance.

The most popular destination was the United States, where nearly a quarter of the 700 million -- around 165 million people -- said they would like to settle.

In joint second were Britain, Canada and France, each being named as the preferred destination of around 45 million people.

Thirty-five million said they would go to Spain, 30 million to Saudi Arabia, and 25 million each to Australia or Germany.

The least likely to want to emigrate were Asians -- only one in 10 Asian adults said they would move to another country.

Nearly 260,000 people aged 15 years and older were surveyed, either by phone or face-to-face, for the poll, which has a margin of error of around five percent.



MRSM Kalae Chepo 66/73

Anonymous said...

MB of Selangor Khalid to quit PR-PKR to be BN friendly MB of Selangor in 10 days time.

Guys guys is this not obivious to you all. He has been sued by the bank for millions and can not pay so offer comes in. Jump and remain as MB. He is going to quit and that is why he chased Badrul out. Plus himself he need another 4 more no 3 more as Hassan ali will jump ship to UMNO too. 1 from PKR , one more from PAS and one from DAP will quit in the coming week to be BN friendly. About Khalid’s court case this will be postpone to a future date maye to year 2109 Dec.

I am serious because MACC is doing a bad job for BN and now rely on Banks and courts

eddy said...

Bro I have lived overseas for more than five years of my life, I think I am more than qualified to say that the grass is never always greener on the other side, in fact some times there is no grass at all on the other side just mirage of a good life.

Migration is part and parcel of the journey of life of many people around the world, many people migrate and is not confined to one race only. People who wished to migrate will come up with 1001 reasons why they want to migrate and it can range from looking for a better more free life, escaping from persecution or prosecution or for some Malaysian they hate the NEP and the BN Government while some Singaporeans perhaps just hate the paternalistic nature of MM Lee Kuan Yew over Singapore.

Anyway for the young and restless becareful of what you wish for though, as once you migrate and renounce your citizenship, you stay out. Just look at the plight of former Malaysian citizens in the UK:

as reported by Global Times [http://world.globaltimes.cn/europe/2009-07/452142.html]

"More than 100 Malaysian Chinese, who have become “human footballs” without nationality due to a change in immigration rules, protested Monday outside the Home Office in London.

“Where is our home?” and “We refuse to be international orphans!” were two of the banners held by the Malaysian Chinese and their supporters, who marched from Westminster Abbey to the Home Office at about 1 pm Monday.

Some of more than 500 Malaysian British Overseas Citizens (BOCs), most of them from Penang and Malacca and who had renounced their Malaysian citizenship, now find themselves stateless as they are not entitled to British citizenship.

According to China News Service, these former Malaysians obtained BOC status autonomously by virtue of being born in the former British colonies of Penang and Malacca before 1983, following an amendment to the British Nationality Act, which created a residual BOC category.

“We are victims of limbo,” the protesters declared, finding themselves in a quandary after being misled into giving up their Malaysian passports as a route toward acquiring British citizenship, according to thestar.com.my website.

By not allowing dual nationality, the Malaysian government considers these BOCs to be British citizens, but they are not recognized by the British government.

These BOCs became stateless “human footballs,” whose basic human rights, such as the right to work and marriage, are no longer guaranteed, the Chinese-language website stnn.cc reported.

They are not able to return to Malaysia as residents, but only with a tourist visa valid for a limited period of time. Once the visa expires, they will be sent back to the UK, where they could be sent to refugee camps since they are not British citizens.

A female protester said she came to the UK seven years ago. After her application for permanent residency was rejected in 2005, and she was unable to sleep well for four years. She has been unable to visit her parents in Malaysia, for fear of not being able to return to the UK due to her non-identity.

A six-member delegation later presented a letter to Immigration Minister Phil Woolas’ private secretary, Oliver Ferrari, seeking a meeting with the minister to look into the plight of the Malaysian BOCs.

“The BOCs have been poorly advised, causing them to live in destitution, fear and exploitation,” said Edmond Yeo, the London Chinese Information and Advice Centre’s Malaysian chairman councilor.

“It’s been a living nightmare,” he said, recalling his experience of being detained for overstaying and spending 18 days in four detention centers after his BOC passport, his Malaysian driving license and passport were seized by the Home Office two years ago.

Must read more here: http://www.nst.com.my/articles/6zthnk/Article/index_html

Well Bro, Hujan mas dinegeri orang, hujan batu dinegeri kita...macam mana pun I still prefer the hujan batu dinegeri kita.

gram.kong said...

FMZam,
Who cares what idiot like you think.You appears everywhere for the decrepit old bugger 'down under' or are you one and the same?

There is nothing wrong getting fact and figures from other places and incorporate them into your article as long as you don't steal someone's story and copied it wholesale and passed it on as yours own.That's is plagiarising.

Where do you think all the researchers go to...to get historical facts and figures to write their articles or books.In the heydays, they use the libraries or archives.

Today, the Internet has most of the answers and it is up to us to ascertain the authenticity and correctness of the information.

I used a lot of information from Wikipedia,blogs and other sources.Where, the information form a substantial part of my story I will quote the source, where, I feel it is not, I don't. Although,I have taken some facts,figures and sentences I feel I don't need to reconstruct from the Strait Times Stomp, it is not a substantial part of my story.

My story is about proving to idiots like you that not only Malaysians, particularly Malaysian Chinese are migrating because of racial discrimination as politicised by the oppositions but greater number of Singaporeans are also migrating.

If you have the fucking brain to read my article in its right context, which is different in its entirety with the article you mentioned, you wouldn't have come to such pathetic conclusion.In all your visits to this blogs you are only capable of making stupid and malicious comments.

If your are so intellectually challenged and can't argue on a sensible basis and can only picked on the crumbs, please, stay away or go back to the hole where you came from.

gram.kong said...

eddy,
Thanks.You are always a breath of fresh air and a man who does his homework before he post a comment.

SM said...

HL,

I guess your article stems from our discussions previously?
Anyway, yes, Singaporeans are leaving Spore. Malaysians are leaving Msia. At the very basic, some of those who leave Msia go to Spore so Spore is not that much in trouble.
Just look at the CEOs in Singaporean companies. If I'm not mistaken, I read recently that most of them are Malaysian. Just look at the top scorers in Spore's Higher Learning Institutes...a lot of them are Malaysian. Most of them will be given PR status once they graduate & take Spore jobs.
Yes, Sporeans are leaving Spore BUT the places are taken up by the brightest & best from Msia.
Whne Msians leave, their places are taken up by Indonesian immigrants (legal or illegal).
Don't matter what DSAI or LKS or Najib says.
Eventually we Msia will be in deep shit (pardon my French).
How long will the BN keep the Never Ending Policy (NEP)? How much more excuses will they (& their supporters) give to "support" a Racist Policy?

gram.kong said...

SM,
It certainly is, only some idiots think otherwise.It certainly stems from our earlier discourse.

I agree with you that we have to change the divisive policy, but I still think most of those that left were more of personal preference rather than siege mentality.

The other problem is our job market in the private sector is as much to blame for the departure of these bright young people to other countries.

Malaysians are basically still paid what they are getting 20 years ago.

The job market in the private sector pays miserably and those graduates who can evaluate their own worth wouldn't stay with such ungrateful employers.Only the few lucky ones who get paid well stayed behind.

Corruptions exist not only in government but also in the private sector, though the amount involved are much smaller compared to those in government.

That's why I have always been a proponent of minimum wage.This will stop exploitation of workers and at the same reduce the inflow of foreign labour.

I still can't fathom why the government refused to implement such policy.Malaysia should stop trying to pose an image of a cheap labour cost centre to attract FDI.We have passed that threshold and should now be looking at higher productivity and cost efficient centre.

SM, whatever it is,migration would continue in both Singapore and Malaysia.

In Singapore, the government even felt cheated as LKY said “They come in here, they get an English education ? and they're off to America.” Refering to foreigners that was given citizenship but eventually migrated to another country.

SM said...

HL,

At the very basic let me just use myself as an example.
I am Msian, proud to be one & no matter where I go or where I work, I state clearly that I'm Msian.
Even though I have done "pretty ok" for myself & my family despite whatever policies the Msian Govt has had, I have always maintained that...as you said..."the grass is NOT always greener on the other side".
HOWEVER (& here lies the gist of it), I am not willing to let my son (& one day maybe his children) face the same discrimination. If you look at those who have left, most of them have moved not because they want to but because they want their children to have a better (fairer?) future.
Face it, the BN changes it's policy to a "need based" (as opposed to Race based) policy & you will see that the outflow will slow down. BUT, I guess will the Malays still vote for them then?
So I guess for the BN, especially UMNO, it's "do you're damned, don't you're damned"!