The issue about (attracting) talent seems to top news item now. While on the topic, I am quite concerned that the PM’s idea for talent sourcing via an overseas blitz will end up in a mess due to poor implementation by the proposed talent corporation.

Firstly, I believe this talent corporation should be placed under Pembangunan Sumber Manusia Negara ( PBSM ) who have been set up originally to enhance skills sets of employees. This will avoid doubling up of efforts and cost and PBSM has their own revenue stream, allowing the government to not need to give this talent corporation any funds at all for operations.

Secondly, please start looking at the talent wasting away at home; there are many of us who are highly qualified and immensely experienced but overlooked by local companies including government companies and agencies, as we are not connected or are children of someone famous.

Sometimes it is quite disheartening to read and hear just how many inferior or unqualified personnel are being announced in appointments to various corporations. We have stayed in Malaysia loyally serving the country through thick and thin, and the nation should look at people like us first, not from outside from those who chose to stay away.

Thirdly, make sure those coming back are really needed. Don’t entice and bring back needless numbers who are then just absorbed to the civil service (I define this to include GLCs and government-owned companies) and bloat it even further.

Some of the numbers and categories of appointees at these companies and agencies are highly bloated. We don’t need to operate at that staffing level and I hope the talent corporation doesn’t just bring back numbers nilly willy just to meet the KPIs without due regard for (actual) needs.

Fourthly, don’t bring back just about anyone, especially those who didn’t hack it elsewhere who may use this opportunity to sneak back as some sort of highly-trained personnel. There has been many cases of accountants/auditors who fail to make it as partners in the UK but straight away are made partners in local firms as soon as they come back, without due regard to circumstances, and this creates a lot of ill-feeling among local lines.

Fifthly, please ensure the talent corporation staffing is lean and operates efficiently and not use outsourced consultants and so on, at all. Malaysian can do this well, we don’t need consultants to do simple jobs.

Finally, I believe there are government agencies or companies that are creating and running similar programmes: make sure all these different efforts are harnessed together. I always believe that taxpayer funds should be spent efficiently, that means there is jut one body or agency in the entire government doing a very unique thing, not few of them doing the same thing.