I am touched by the ordeal that Larry How's family went through to settle in Australia. Nobody should operate under the assumption that migration is a bed of sweet, smelling roses. Roses have thorns.

It is evident what the country has lost with the How family. It is not only Larry How's future potential we are talking about, but the fact that his parents made huge sacrifices so that their children are free from racially-motivated policies is worth examining.

I do not believe in migrating overseas. Perhaps it would be more honest to say that I do not have that option before me at the moment. But who knows what I might do if the opportunity arises.

Certainly, migration is not a dirty word. In fact, migration is the reason for this multiethnic paradise I call home today. The question is, can Malaysia retain her talents? This is not a question of the outward emigration of the Chinese Malaysians.

We are simply losing good people to the more developed countries, and this problem is also faced by other countries such as India and Singapore. The PAP government down south even went on a campaign to denounce 'quitters'.

Many people leave the country for a variety of reasons. Some leave for economic reasons, some for better education, some over concerns for the climate of democracy in their home country. There is no reason to deride any migrant for their choices in life. Every human being is entitled to the right of physical, social and geographical mobility - you seek your place on earth and call it home.

While the move to emigrate isn't entirely selfish (I am sure some move overseas to continue their fight for political and press freedom in their homeland), I do appeal to the new generation of Malaysians to stay back (or come back). My reasoning is pretty simple - if you want some things to change, you have to make it happen.

You want to reap the benefits of a civil society, you have to work for it. This is true even in countries such as the UK, US or Australia. The US did not become the land of the free for the blacks until way after World War Two. Many people worked to make things happen there because they believed they could affect change.

So leave if you must, go while you can, but don't give up on the march.

The brain drain issue isn't about the NEP alone, and it is not only the Chinese Malaysians who are affected. Until we learn to think in broader terms, our struggle for a civil society will hit the same racial roadblock that communal politics in this country has so successfully cultivated.

I may not agree with Shaukat Ali's tone about the money bit, but I would say aye to this - if you want to make a difference, go where you are needed.

Nobody will blame you for seeking greener pastures. That's normal. Everyone would love to move up one rung on the social ladder. Larry How's parents abandoned their old ladder for a new one, starting all over from the bottom because they believed that their children would have a more equitable ladder to climb on.

That is a worthy sacrifice that requires courage.

The issue of brain drain has been debated many times over, but the answer does not lie in painting migrants as opportunistic, money-eyed devils or by deriding the homeland. Go forth and explore new lands, it is your prerogative, but please spare us the lectures.

This ship is heading somewhere, and if you decide to take another ride, please try to show some appreciation for those peddling aboard a vessel with leaks. Some of us quit the country, some of us need to stick by it, and no one is more the wiser.

Congratulations to those who have found a better future in life. For the rest of us, we probably have to slog it out and keep our fingers crossed. We would welcome anyone to join us in getting the nation out of its rut for everyone wants to be in a first-rate country with a first-rate society.

Yet, I can't help but wonder, can I have it all without having to work for it?