The number of skilled Malaysians returning from abroad under Talent Corporation Malaysia’s (TalentCorp) programmes have sharply decreased, while its recruitment of foreign talent is on the rise.

According to figures released by TalentCorp, the firm was able to attract 900 people to return to Malaysia in 2013, but the figure has been reducing every year. Last year, TalentCorp’s Returning Experts Programme (REP) attracted only 398 people.

TalentCorp CEO Shareen Shariza Abdul Ghani said Malaysians who have spent an extended time abroad may not be familiar with the opportunities and growth back home.

A reason often cited by Malaysians who chose to remain overseas was that they were unwilling to uproot their school-going children.

“What we need to do is ‘sell’ the country better, ‘sell’ the opportunities so they will want to come back,” Shareen told a roundtable with reporters yesterday...