Malays leaving country too, says Perkasa
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, The Malaysian Insider
KUALA LUMPUR, April 30 — Malays are also migrating in hope of landing better jobs abroad as they are being discriminated against by Malaysia’s private sector, says rights group Perkasa.
The Malay rights group said the issue of brain drain was not limited to non-Malays, accusing the private sector of having “racist” policies in hiring employees.
“The Malays are leaving the country in droves because they cannot obtain places within the private sector, only the government sector… the private sector chooses employees based on skin colour, and they favour their own race compared to Malays,” Perkasa secretary-general Syed Hassan Syed Ali told The Malaysian Insider.
He disputed the findings of a World Bank report published on Thursday which stated that the main factors causing brain drain in Malaysia were policies favouring the Malays.
“Malays are leaving, they are going to the United Kingdom, Dubai for better prospects… why? Because they can’t even get job opportunities despite being qualified,” Syed Hassan told The Malaysian Insider.
The Perkasa leader claimed pro-Bumiputera economic policies were not the reason non-Malays were leaving the country.
“The Chinese, the Indians, they like to leave the country, they are used to leaving their country for better job opportunities.
“They are leaving because they want better pay in foreign countries… it is not because of discriminatory policies… they have everything they want here, what are they complaining for?” said the Perkasa secretary-general.
In a Bloomberg news service report, World Bank senior economist Philip Schellekens was quoted as saying that foreign investment could be five times the current levels if the country had Singapore’s talent base.
