www.e-malaysian.org

[casper77]

http://www.e-malaysian.org/forum/posting.php?mode=newtopic&f=12

We need to feel appreciated

LIKE Joanna Ng, “Take our brain-drain problem seriously” (The Star, Sept 11), I am one of the many Malaysians studying in Australia.

Having been here for about a month to pursue a PhD programme at the Australian National University, I can empathise with the feelings of the immigrants and what pull factors make them decide to make this land their permanent residence.

Australia is a home away from home. Asians constitute most of the immigrants here as Australia is geographically nearer to their home countries compared with the US and Britain.

Australia also has an open society that does not discriminate against Asians or other foreigners. This is mainly due to the small population in this vast continent.

The Australian government's policies favour the immigrants so that they can form an invaluable human resource to engineer the country's development.

Hence, everything here is based on merit. You do well in your studies, you get the scholarship, regardless of your nationality and ethnicity.

Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about my own country, Malaysia. Though we are almost 50 years into independence, racial and religious segregations still prevail.

These were evidently felt after I left school and went into a public local university as an undergraduate.

It does not really matter whether a country is blessed with natural resources like rubber and petroleum.

Singapore is quite barren in that sense but it is a developed nation. What is priceless and powerful is a country's human resource.

With abundant brains and energy only can a country's development go far and be sustained.

And Malaysia is endowed with intelligent people and that is why our overseas students always excel in their fields.

Isn't it a pity to watch our bright and young people slipping away from the country and contributing their work elsewhere?

Wouldn't it be great if the Government could attract these good people to return home?

I enjoy many things in Australia that I do not get to in Malaysia. Apart from the handsome scholarship, I get opportunities to do collaborative research with scientists from top universities in the world.

But, like Ng, I know that all this excitement will wane one day and I will be beckoned by that homecoming call.

There is nothing like working and contributing to my own country. And I long to have my family beside me.

Yet, in the meantime, when I am still undecided about my future whereabouts, I hope to see more being done to make non-bumiputra Malaysians feel appreciated in their country, by their country.



SYLVIA HSU-CHEN YIP,
Canberra, Australia.