Now Australia is the next Singapore in tapping ‘unwanted’ Malaysian talents

LOSING famed-but-controversial transgender beauty/cosmetic entrepreneur Nur Sajat Kamaruzzaman to Australia is a big loss that Malaysia has yet to realise. The country surely must have done an in-depth profile check on Nur Sajat before granting her asylum.

On May 5, FocusM ran a commentary on how another Muar product, Florence Tan, is today overseeing the development of National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) spacecrafts, which are headed for Mars.

Recently, Malaysia further lost two community leaders of great calibre in 53-year old Sabah-born Penny Wong (a.k.a. Penelope Ying-Yen Wong) and 61-year-old Johor -born Sam Lim, as both “unwanted” Malaysians won seats in the Australian Federal Election.

“I served for two years as a police constable with the Royal Malaysian Police Force (PDRM) before leaving to become a dolphin trainer, and then went on to run several small businesses in Malaysia and then in Australia,” penned Lim who has been elected as the Western Australia (WA) Labour MP for Tangney on his website.

“I moved to Australia with my wife and three children because I wanted them to receive a world-class education. I joined the WA Police Academy in 2006 and have since worked across Perth and regional WA.”

Even as the (modified) adage “the grass is not always greener across the septic tank” holds true to a large extent, there is no denying that the nation Down Under is following in the footsteps of Singapore when it comes to luring Malaysian talents.

Basically, Malaysia has a wide-range of talents in many sectors, including politics. Lim and Wong’s stories are testament to the high degree of human capital outflow from our country.

Left unchecked, the brain-drain phenomenon may become too serious that it would dent Malaysia’s ambition to become a developed country.

Many locals, frustrated with the lack of opportunities or career prospect, have migrated overseas seeking better recognition for the talent they possess.

 

Back to Lim’s feat, recall that in December 2020, he emerged as the first non-Caucasian as well as the first Malaysian to be conferred the Police Officer of the Year in Western Australia due to his outstanding performance, notably for assisting migrants (by virtue of his multilingual ability).

“Even at the age of 44, they told me I could still join the police force here so long as I passed the tests as Australia does not discriminate against a person due to his age, colour or gender for job opportunities,” Lim, who is a permanent resident of Australia, told Sin Chew Daily.

Meanwhile, Wong, who is the daughter of respected architect Francis Wong (and an Australian mother), moved to Australia in 1976 as an eight-year-old where she graduated in law and arts from the University of Adelaide.

She is expected to be sworn in as Australia’s Foreign Minister today after the Labour party ousted the Liberal-National Conservative coalition’s nine-year administration.

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) newspaper said Wong had emerged as the second-most-powerful member of incoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s Cabinet.

“Tough, cerebral and sometimes self-righteous, she’s forged a close friendship with Albanese,” noted AFR.

In 2001, she was elected Senator and in 2008, Wong became the first Asian-born member of an Australian Cabinet when she served as Climate Change Minister under Kevin Rudd’s administration.

In addition, Wong had also served as shadow Foreign Minister since 2016. – May 23, 2022

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