Tag: Malaysia

Brain Drain Update: Malaysians Tell Why They Still Prefer To Work Abroad

TalentCorp CEO Johan Mahmood Merican in a recent interview on September 2 said that in the past four years, it has attracted 3,600 Malaysians home through its Returning Experts Programme (REP), a figure he admitted was a “drop in the ocean”, he had pointed out, Astro Awani reports.

Compare that with the number of Malaysians who have moved overseas. The World Bank reported in its 2014 Malaysia report that in 2013, a total 308,834 high-skilled Malaysians moved overseas. What’s more alarming is the report said that this trend is increasing, that the number of skilled Malaysians living abroad rose 300 per cent in the last two decades, with two out of every 10 Malaysians with tertiary education opting to leave for either Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries or Singapore.

This is the reason TalentCorp was established in the first place to address the worsening brain drain but Johan admitted that what was before already a challenging effort has turned into even more of an uphill battle given the sliding Ringgit and recent bad press about Malaysia.

“Malaysians abroad at this juncture would need more persuasion to return home given the current economic and political climate.

“We have learned from the analysis conducted by the World Bank and taken heed of their recommendations that the REP is most effective in ensuring the return of Malaysians abroad when it was connected with an employment offer,” he noted.

What is clear is that Malaysia’s brain drain problem has not improved, in fact public sentiment show it could have intensified although no statistics are available for the 2014 to 2015 period yet.

All this time TalentCorp has been targeting returning experts but the results are not encouraging, given the narrow pool of talent they are fishing in. Why don’t they look at the majority of Malaysians who are choosing to remain abroad in huge numbers – fresh graduates and young working professionals who have just entered the employment scene?

Logically, won’t it be easier to convince these people who are not earning huge salaries and have had the opportunity to settle down overseas to return if its attached to attractive job offers?

Where are the schemes by TalentCorp to bring back the graduates, or the young working professionals who, while they might not be a cardiothoracic surgeon or petroleum engineer, can also bring development to Malaysia with their skill sets and making Malaysia a ‘world-class workforce’.

Students And Young Professionals Tell Why They Don’t Prefer To Work In Malaysia

Malaysian-Canadian Adam McKenna is currently pursuing a degree in BSC Economics at the University of Victoria, and serves as President of the Economics Course Union.

He gave the following reasons for not wanting to work in Malaysia:

1. Low starting salary (assuming we’re talking about fresh graduates)

2. Declining Ringgit (travelling is popular among young Malaysians)

3. Nepotism(or perceived nepotism) work culture

4. More meritocratic opportunities abroad

5. The love of ‘working abroad’ (as imbued during stints overseas as students, perhaps – assuming we’re talking about overseas graduates)

6. A desire to bring parents abroad to retire, once they’re settled
He also gives his points in making Malaysians come back:

1. Favourable fresh graduates programmes (tried with some success under TalentCorp)

2. An inward movement of foreign corporations (perhaps this will happen under TPP?)

3. A push for accountability and good governance at all levels of government (which should then translate into a more meritocratic work environment in the private sector)

4. Better amenities, such as schools and universities (if raising families is their concern)

“A lot of it might be purely sentiment – a corrupt government, while not 100% directly affecting citizens, might lead Malaysians to become disillusioned and aim for greener pastures.

“Or Malaysia may not have the fields graduates want to work in (certain high tech industries come to mind, where opportunities in Singapore may be more attractive)” he commented.

Lisa Hanim (not her real name) is a freelance video editor currently trying to find a permanent job in the UK.

“It’s been tough finding a job. Pretty much the career I have invested 5 years of my life in, and it seems like the UK film industry only picks up freelancers” she tells Malaysian Digest.

“But to be fair at this moment I’m willing to take on any job that would make me stay in the UK because I have more of a life here than in Malaysia.

“In Malaysia it is easy to do freelance because the regulations for it isn’t strict. Here if you’re pan-European, it’s a little hard because you’d have to be registered as self-employed and registering as self-employed requires a specific visa that requires you to have access to £50,000.

“Right now, I’m on a student visa. which is actually quite risky for me to get a freelance job.

“Plus for me to qualify for the visa I need I have to be offered £20,800 per year”, she says with scepticism.

Her reasons for preferring to work abroad are social and cultural factors.

“I’m agnostic, and I have no place in Malaysia. I can’t be myself without people jaga tepi kain. I want freedom actually, freedom to express, freedom to be your own person and not what your government dictates, not what you family dictates.

“Yes I understand as Asians we have a certain cultural influence growing up but I never liked this idea that race and culture is tied with religion.

“I hate the whole bit of if you’re Malay you cannot be anything other than Muslim and f***ing hell Malays are f***ing narrow minded, and I cannot deal with it.

“My parents are pretty liberal but when it comes to religion it’s “you were born a Muslim and you have to die a Muslim” – have to. And I think that’s a load of crap.

“Alternatively, the cost of living is another thing. The value of RM2000 and £2000 (not the actual price conversion) is so different.

“With RM2000, 3/4 of your salary is gone once you pay rent in Malaysia. Rent, bills, loans – the important stuffs.

“£2000 (if you live outside central London/anywhere else other than London) rental is probably around £600 – £700? Miscellaneous bills are probably an extra £300? So you still have half of it left for the rest of the month.

“£2000 is probably good enough if you know how to save because of course London being London you know, people who were born and grew up in London are moving out of London because property prices are getting too high but unlike Malaysia, England does try to develop places outside London.

“A lot of companies are moving out of London – design houses and production houses and video games companies are moving to the coast and the countryside to,reduce stress for the workers.

What will make Lisa want to come back?

“When people start keeping their religions as a personal matter,,but to be fair I’ll probably come home in November because I have to and if I don’t get a job by the middle of this month, I would need to get a ticket back home, spend some time there, and then come back here again”.

Farhana Hamid is currently based in Czechoslovakia with her Czech boyfriend. She recently graduated from Malaysia and is working with Marcus Evans, which is in the in the events industry, handling conferences, forums, and professional training sports events for industry experts.

“I prefer going abroad because of the work culture here – there’s no extra working hours, we all go back on time, it’s flexible here, and there’s more opportunities especially when you are earning in euros – also because I’m in Europe! With my boyfriend we travel a lot and having a long distance relationship is hard. Best part is I have 20 days of holidays a year here, compared with 12 in Malaysia!

While Farhana is unsure of working there permanently, she says that there are bigger opportunities to earn more and to get transferred to any other exciting locations.

“Another thing about working here is that their culture is non-judgemental. You can dress sexy or anything as long as it’s formal, for example. If you ask me what will make me come back to Malaysia? Probably when I’m at the level of a senior manager and above”.

But she has not let go of all hopes of working in Malaysia.

“I was waiting to serve my country for the JPA or the government to call me, but they never did. This month my contract will be terminated, and hopefully officially. It was a long wait and so many graduates have to find their own solutions, especially when our salary is tiny.

My new job is based on commission, including my basic, I’m earning roughly RM8-10,0000 per month, total”.

Evelyn Tang, is a theoretical quantum physicist (postdoctoral researcher) at the University of Pennsylvania, who just got her PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) believed that the racial disparity was her main reason for not working in Malaysia.

“I had to go abroad for university anyway because of the quotas against Chinese in local universities which meant that it would be very difficult for me to study what I want and where I want (experienced by many family and friends),” she explained.

“And I ended up in the US because research and academia are much more exciting and open here — the US has many many great universities. I want to be a professor — a professional within the university system so it’s important to me to really learn good skills and techniques vs substandard ones.

“Research has to be based on merit and fair competition because otherwise it is strangled and stifled.

“Thought and inquiry rests on the freedom to investigate what one needs and thinks instead of following what your boss thinks (why corruption is so bad for research). Without this original progress is impossible unfortunately. Talent Corp’s programs do not address these systemic issues”.

Reversing Brain Drain – Thinking Out Of The Box

Instead of focusing on getting highly accomplished Malaysians abroad to return why not look as retaining talent who haven’t left and harnessing the migrant brainpower that is attracted to Malaysian shores without requiring TalentCorp to lay out the red carpet for their return.

In a report titled “How Asia is putting a plug in brain drain”, CNBC featured how many Asian countries can prevent their best and brightest from even leaving their country’s shores by establishing branches of top ranked foreign universities in their country.

As an example, they featured a medical graduate who is among the first batch of doctors to graduate from Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia (NUMed), the first overseas U.K. medical school that opened in 2011.

“The greatest reason I chose NUMed was the fact that I live in Johor,” NUMed student Ka Liang said, referring to the Malaysian state where the university is located. “Studying in a place that is very near home comes with great benefits.”

“The Malaysian government realizes that many of their brightest students don’t come back from studying abroad, so through this model of asking us to come here and deliver our training in a Malaysian context, students are more likely to stay and hopefully raise the standards of health care in Malaysia,” said professor Chris Day, Newcastle’s pro-vice-chancellor for the Faculty of Medical Sciences, CNBC reports.

This shift in access to education could play a big role in reversing brain drain, experts say. To date, several highly ranked universities from the UK and Australia have already established branch campuses in Malaysia so TalentCorp might consider shifting their radar to this pool of talent who are already in Malaysia, including expatriates who have found their way into Malaysian shores.

However, the current 10-year Residence Pass-Talent (RP-T) by TalentCorp is only available to expats who have worked here for 3 years, possess 5 years working experience and earning a minimum of RM144,000 per annum, conditions which are nothing short of ridiculous for young professionals and graduates.

Ouf Abeda is from Egypt. He is currently freelancing as a web designer and recently had to go back to Indonesia as he had reached the limit of his tourist visa (90 days). He left on the 89th day, spent a week at Indonesia before finally entering Malaysia again.

“I am trying very hard to find permanent work here, but it’s extremely difficult. I have the skills sets, but Malaysian companies have to offer me a full time job – thing is they’d prefer to have me freelance instead as it’s easy for them.

“And the funny thing is that I need to have a work visa to work with them – but I can’t get that visa unless they offer work to me first!”

Ouf had thought about marrying a Malaysian, in hopes that perhaps having a Residence Pass or Permanent Residence should make it easier for him.

“Of course I don’t want to marry just because of work, also for love, as I’m looking for someone religious to marry. But if marrying a Malaysian can help me get a job here as well, why not?”

TalentCorp hosting a networking dinner organised as part of the Returning Expert Programme in Dubai. FilePic: GulfNews“While Malaysians are going abroad to work, I, and many other foreign freelancing friends of mine, including my friend Pat from the UK who is also a freelance video editor, would love to work and live here. I love working here in Malaysia, it’s different than working in Egypt. But I feel sad that the government is not making it easier for us.

“I understand if we are labour workers trying to find work here – but I believe we aren’t labour workers, we have skills in IT and in the media, blue collar work, and can contribute for Malaysia.”

And truth be told – returning Malaysians, despite being guaranteed extremely high pay in addition to their benefits, and for expats to come under the Resident Pass-Talent, if they had not been offered these perks they would not have come under their own initiatives.

Perhaps we should instead focus on the graduates who are here already, looking for jobs in the country, or those who are abroad and willing to work here if certain conditions change, and most especially for talented foreigners who wish to work here – and not even claim for any special treatment such as TalentCorp, especially when they cannot even receive it.

So, instead of the handful of experts overseas, we should put more effort to attract the many more hopefuls and potentials out there who do want to work in Malaysia, who would come back or who are already here.

Source: www.malaysiandigest.com

October 14, 2015
Ringgit Fall – Abuse, Exploitation Does Not Stop Blue-Collar Workers From Flocking To Singapore

When 21-year-old Zuhalfizi Ismail from Negri Sembilan arrived to work in Singapore last month, he was confident his family’s mounting debts would be paid off within the year, and he would have saved enough to marry his childhood sweetheart.

But barely a month into his job as a cleaner with a large Singaporean firm, he now finds himself out on the streets, pockets empty, in one of the richest nations in the world.

“My boss cancelled my permit, and I have to go home. But when I asked for my salary, he said my contract says they can forfeit my salary because I worked less than three months,” Zulhafizi told The Malaysian Insider.

He is one of thousands of migrant workers who come to Singaporean non-profit organisation Humanitarian Organisation for Migration Economics (HOME) every year with complaints of employer abuse or exploitation.

He is also one of hundreds of thousands of Malaysians in Singapore working blue-collar jobs that locals shun and, ironically, which migrant labourers in Malaysia are doing.

Zulhafizi, who was working as a general cleaner, said his job was terminated because he had repeatedly demanded to be paid for working overtime.

“They made me work 12-hour days for six days a week, but said I would only get S$500 (RM1,500) a month.

“They promised me S$1,200 before I came, but now they say I signed the contract agreeing to S$500.”

HOME executive director Jolovan Wham said Zulhafizi’s situation was similar to most of the foreign workers who come to the centre.

“Work contracts are signed in English which most of the foreigners have very little understanding of.

“Because his employers didn’t technically breach the contract, unfortunately, he doesn’t really have a case,” said Wham of Zulhafizi’s case, adding that HOME was now trying to work out an amicable settlement with his employers.

Seeking greener pastures

Singapore’s thriving economy is a boon for immigrants from poorer neighbours and is now especially enticing for Malaysians with the continued decline in value of the ringgit, Asia’s worst performing currency.

Most of the semi-skilled or low-skilled workers are willing to accept lower wages than their Singaporean counterparts, and put up with less-than-satisfactory working conditions for the possibility of bringing home much higher wages than if they were to work in Malaysia.

Wham says apart from contractual disagreements, he has received complaints of physical intimidation by employers seeking to “discipline” their workers.

“One guy from Sarawak once complained that he was made to do push-ups.

“Another one was shoved and threatened with a punch,” Wham told The Malaysian Insider.

.A total of 146 Malaysian blue-collar workers sought assistance from the Malaysian High Commission in Singapore from January to June this year, the high commission revealed. Total number of complaints for the whole of last year was 145.

High commission officials believe the figures are a fraction of the actual number of complaints, as many blue-collar workers find approaching non-governmental organisations, like HOME, for help to be less intimidating.

“Most of them have problems with their work permits, or their employers are not paying them or are keeping their passports,” a senior official at the high commission told The Malaysian Insider on condition of anonymity.

“We try to help by contacting their families in Malaysia, or by informing Singapore’s Ministry of Manpower. But honestly, there’s usually very little we can do,” he said, citing “diplomatic sensitivities”.

According to statistics provided by the Ministry of Manpower, the total number of work permits issued for semi- and low-skilled jobs in 2014 was 991,300. From January to June this year, 993,900 work permits for blue-collar jobs – including cleaners, constructions workers and factory workers – were issued.

The island-state recorded more than 1.35 million foreign workers last year, a figure that has already been surpassed as of June this year.

A 2012 World Bank report placed the number of Malaysians working in Singapore at more than 400,000, a figure that Malaysian officials believe has grown much higher in the past two years.

This means almost half of the tiny republic’s foreign labour force is made up of Malaysians, and the majority of them are in blue-collar jobs.

Risking arrest, fines and deportation

The attractiveness of earning in Singapore dollar, which was trading at S$1 to RM3.01 by the end of yesterday, has even emboldened Malaysians to risk hefty fines and arrest.

Every weekday morning at specific areas around Woodlands – Singapore’s northernmost suburb – hundreds of semi-skilled and skilled Malaysians with no legal permits will wait with the hopes of being picked up by employers looking for day-job workers.

Jobs ranging from painting to electrical and plumbing works pay from $50 to $80 a day, almost double of what they would get back home for the same amount of work.

The men wait at coffee shops, bus stations and other fixed spots around Woodlands from as early as 7am, waiting for owners of small cleaning or construction businesses to drive by and take their pick of workers.

At the end of the day, the workers get dropped back at the pick-up point, where they will make their way home with their day’s wages.

“Most days we don’t get any work, but sometimes if we’re lucky, an employer will ‘book’ us for a few weeks,” said Ah Lim, a Johor native who was one of the many Malaysians waiting on the steps of Woodlands Centre last Thursday morning hoping to be picked up.

Under Singapore’s Employment of Foreign Manpower Act, foreigners working without legal permits face a S$24,000 fine and up to 24 months’ jail.

Ah Lim, who works as a freelance electrician back in Johor Baru, said he was aware that he could be jailed and fined if caught, but says it was a risk he and his friends were willing to take.

“There’s very little work (in Johor Baru), so it’s better to take the risk and come here every day. By noon, if nobody comes, then I will return home,” he said.

“But I will come and try my luck again the next morning.”

Malaysians doing jobs foreigners at home do

Wham says while Malaysians make up a small percentage of the migrant workers coming to his organisation, he has already seen an increase in the numbers.

“The Malaysians who come here are doing jobs that foreigners are doing back in Malaysia. They work in low-skilled jobs as cleaners, or work in the service sector,” Wham said, referring to Malaysia’s 2.1 million legal foreign workers, and almost as many illegal migrants, who are employed in industries, such as construction, manufacturing and the service sectors back home.

“So Malaysia is both a receiving and sending country (of blue-collar workers). It’s quite a unique situation,” he said.

For Zulhafizi, his short-lived and bitter experience with one employer has not been enough to deter him from trying to seek re-employment in Singapore.

“If I manage to save S$1,000, and send it back every month, that’s RM3,000! I can’t even earn half that amount in Malaysia, much less save that amount,” he said.

“Of course, this experience has left me with a bitter taste, but it’s worth risking it again. I can’t find the same opportunity in Malaysia. There, my family is ‘sesat’ (lost).”

Source: www.themalaysianinsider.com

October 14, 2015
Sufi Rashid Wins Akademi Fantasia 2015

SHAH ALAM: Astro Ria’s popular reality talent show Akademi Fantasia 2015 (AF 2015) has crowned its winner, Sufi Rashid, 24, of Singapore. There were four finalists in the final concert broadcast live over Astro Ria from the Shah Alam City Council (Wisma MBSA) here at 9pm on Sunday.

Sufi received the first prize of RM50,000 while Syamel Fodzly, 22, of Kuala Lumpur, Bila Samsaidi, 19, of Kuala Lumpur, and Shahrol Kamarozaman, 19, of Port Dickson, received the second, third and fourth prizes of RM30,000, RM20,000 and RM10,000 respectively.

The champion performed two songs namely the original Kisah Dua Muka written by himself and the hit single Andai Ku Berrcinta Lagi made popular by Mojo. The two-hour concert was co-hosted by Zizan Razak and Faizal Ismail. Datuk Ramli MS, Fauziah Ahmad Daud, Datuk Aznil Nawawi and Datuk AC Mizal were the contest judges.

The contestants: Sufi Rashid, 24, from Singapore. Bila Samsaidi, 19, from KL. Syamel Fodzly, 22, from KL. Shahrul Kamarozaman, 19, from Port Dickson.

Sufi sang Andaiku Bercinta Lagi made popular by Mojo while Syamel sang Sampai Mati by Hazama Azmi. Shahrul sang Just The Way You Are by Bruno Mars and Bila sang Karma by Faizal Tahir. Sufi, Syamel, Shahrul and Bila also sang the original songs Kisah Dua Muka, Hidup Dalam Mati, Hanya Kamu and Diam Saja. Sufi’s and Syamel’s songs were self-composed while Shahrul’s and Bila’s songs were composed by Zul Majid and Edry respectively.

Source: www.nst.com.my

October 12, 2015
DAP: Bilahari Kausikan Confuses Racial Dominance With Supremacism

MP SPEAKS I refer to the lengthy 3,000-word opinion piece by Singapore’s ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan entitled “Malaysia is undergoing a systemic change that has profound consequences for Singapore” dated October 6, 2015 published in The Singapore Straits Times.

Bilahari wrote in his analytical piece, referring to the overwhelming anti-establishment sentiment of the Chinese community and the turnout at the recent Bersih4 rally, that:

“It is my impression that many young Malaysian Chinese have forgotten the lessons of May 13, 1969. They naively believe that the system built around the principle of Malay dominance can be changed. That may be why they abandoned MCA for the DAP. They are delusional. Malay dominance will be defended by any means.”

In fact, he even warned that the likely outcome of the above will be “even less space for non-Muslims”.

The top Singapore diplomat could not have gotten it more wrong.

Firstly, Bilahari needs to distinguish the principle of Malay “dominance” which is significantly different from Malay “supremacy” contested by most opposition voices. No one denies that Malays will dominate the sphere of politics and economy in Malaysia.

They will generally dominate purely because they comprise of the majority in the country.

Bersih not about race

Perhaps Bilahari can understand the distinction better in the context of Singapore, where the Chinese indisputably dominates the political, economic and social space. However, that does not translate into a Chinese-supremacist city state.

And perhaps Bilahari has overlooked that fact that even the DAP, whose leaders are undeniably comprised of a Chinese majority, fully support Anwar Ibrahim as the prime minister candidate for Malaysia. As far as we can tell, Anwar is and has always been a Malay and a Muslim.

Secondly and more crucially, Bilahari failed to recognise that the anti-establishment sentiment and the recent Bersih4 rally isn’t at all about race. No one went to the mega-rally holding placards or shouting slogans making racial demands. Those who attended the rally certainly did not see themselves present to represent their ethnic roots.

They took part in the rally because they aspire for a better country defined not by race or religion, but by the principles of justice, good governance and democratic ideals. They were angry, frustrated and galvanised to act in the light of the tens of billions of ringgit embezzled and misappropriated by 1MDB, as well as the obscene RM2.6 billion donation deposited into the prime minister’s personal bank account.

Instead of seeing the uproar against 1MDB as a courageous fight against corruption, Bilahari chose to frame the 1MDB scandal as a political fight by juxtaposing Najib Razak and (former PM) Dr Mahathir Mohamed. He argued that:

“[t]he 1MDB scandal is less about corruption than about a struggle for power within Umno. Dr Mahathir seems to have expected to exercise remote control even though he was no longer prime minister. Among his grievances with his successors were their warming of ties with Singapore, Najib’s decision to settle the railway land issue, cooperation on Iskandar Malaysia (IM) and the refusal of both Abdullah Badawi and Najib to proceed with his pet white elephant: the “crooked bridge”. Dr Mahathir wants to replace Najib with someone more pliable.

“Najib understands that Malaysia and Singapore need each other. So far and unusually we have not figured very much in the controversies.”

Whither S’pore’s moral compass?

It is clear from the above, Bilahari wanted to persuade Singaporeans that despite the disgraceful multi-billion ringgit corruption scandal Najib is entangled with and his less than legitimate election to office with funds sourced from dubious unknown sources, it is better the devil you can cut deals with.

While Singaporeans “have no choice but to work with whatever system or leader emerges in Malaysia”, he emphasised that “some systems will be easier to work with than others”.

Clearly as the ambassador-at-large, Bilahari’s views demonstrate how Singapore as a country, despite its enormous wealth and developed nation status, completely lacks a moral compass. It is less important for him to support “what is right and just”, as opposed to “what is in it for me” in Singapore’s relations with its neighbours, regardless of how evil or corrupt a regime is.

The former permanent secretary for foreign affairs further poured scorn on the attempts to defeat Umno-led BN by mocking Pakatan Harapan as “a coalition of the DAP, PKR and a minor breakaway faction from PAS, is a forlorn hope (pun intended)”.

Conversely, I’m proud to be a Malaysian to see hundreds of thousands of Malaysians march the streets of Kuala Lumpur to demand free and fair elections, integrity and accountability from the ruling government against all odds. This is because these allegedly “delusional” young Malaysians actually have hearts and souls. This is where hope is effervescent.

On the other hand, Bilahari’s unapologetically selfish and arrogant views only cement the perception of Singapore as the contemptible Shylock of Southeast Asia. He concluded his thesis with a subtle warning that “[t]his is not the most salubrious of neighbourhoods”. I had to look up the meaning of the world “salubrious” in the dictionary. It means “healthy, wholesome or pleasant”.

Bilahari is ironically spot on. It certainly doesn’t make a “salubrious” neighbourhood with a neighbour who unabashedly locks all his own doors and windows when he sees the resident next door robbed blind in broad daylight.

TONY PUA is DAP national publicity secretary and Petaling Jaya Utara MP.

Source: www.malaysiakini.com

October 9, 2015
Bilahari Kausikan: Young Chinese In Malaysia ‘Delusional’ To Think Malay Domination Can Change

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 6 — Malaysia’s ethnic Chinese youth are “delusional” if they believe that Malay dominance in politics can be replaced by a change in the system, Singapore’s ambassador-at-large Bilahari Kausikan has said.

Instead, the top Singaporean diplomat said this dominance will be defended by any means, including a possible political alliance between Malay nationalist ruling party Umno and opposition Islamist party PAS.

“It is my impression that many young Malaysian Chinese have forgotten the lessons of May 13, 1969. They naively believe that the system built around the principle of Malay dominance can be changed.

“That may be why they abandoned MCA for the DAP. They are delusional. Malay dominance will be defended by any means,” Bilahari wrote in an opinion piece published in The Straits Times (ST) today.

Amid the current political upheaval in Malaysia, Bilahari cautioned that any new system that emerges will not only still have Malay dominance at its centre, but its enforcement will be even more rigorous with less space for the non-Muslims.

Singapore’s former permanent secretary for foreign affairs said that as Umno relies even more on religion for legitimacy, it will look to political rival PAS—which is now being led by conservative clerics after purging itself of their moderate leaders—for support.

“Umno and PAS may eventually form some sort of de facto if not de jure alliance that could be the core of a new ruling system,” said Bilahari.

“There may be token ornaments of other races, but the Malaysian system will then comprise an overwhelmingly dominant Malay government with a DAP-led Chinese opposition. This will be potentially explosive.”

According to Bilahari, the ongoing 1 Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal has quickened the pace towards the formation of such a system, foreshadowed by the recent Bersih 4 rally that he said was dominated by the ethnic Chinese.

Bilahari also urged Singapore to let Malaysia solve its own political woes, as any systemic change will have a profound change over the Causeway even when Singapore practises the separation of religion and state.

“Are we completely immune to contagion from Malaysia? After 50 years, does our collective Singapore identity now trump racial identities? Maybe under some circumstances. Optimistically, perhaps even most circumstances. But under all circumstances?

“I doubt it. Let us wish Malaysia well and hope that the worst does not occur,” said Bilahari.

Last week, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) suggested that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s fight for political survival has not only created divisions in ruling Umno but recently, also sparked racial discord in multiracial Malaysia.

In the article, WSJ took stock of recent developments on Malaysia’s political front, particularly the 34-hour Bersih 4 rally and the #Merah169 counter-protest, two events it said had sparked this purported racial discord.

Source: www.themalaymailonline.com

October 9, 2015