Priority should be given to retain local professionals rather than depend on foreign talent, who are only here for the short term, warn educationists.

rela rape 070907 n siva subramaniam Former National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general N Siva Subramaniam ( left ) said the government should take pro-active measures like better salaries, equal education and job opportunities based on meritocracy, to stop the country's brain drain.

"We have lost our much of our talent to countries like Singapore, United Kingdom, USA and Australia which practise meritocracy and pay well," lamented Siva in a recent interview.

He said taking foreign talent in areas where there is no local expertise is probably good in the short term but in the long run it is better to train Malaysians to fill such positions.

The veteran educationist said employing foreigners also brought with it unwanted consequences.

Illustrating this, he said the influx of cheap foreign labour into the country has caused social problems for the nation as well as the steady outflow of our currency.

uum discipline action against student 260209 mohamed khaled nordin Siva also questioned the loyalty of foreign talent towards Malaysia as they are driven by financial gain for the most part, and would eventually return to their mother country.

He was commenting on Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin's ( right ) recent statement that the government is considering offering outstanding foreign students permanent resident (PR) status to utilise their expertise and knowledge for the country's development and for the benefit of local students.

Social aspects

Former NUTP deputy secretary-general II S Sundralingam said the preference should go to

local talent who are familiar with the social and religious aspects of this multi-racial

country, whereas the foreigners could cause social problems due to their unfamiliarity with local culture.

He said as it is the country has enough social problems with foreign labourers and does not need more.

"The funds wasted on retaining foreign talent should be used for training Malaysians as they are the future assets of our nation," he added.

NONE Former National Union of Tamil School Teachers president Shahul Hamid Mydin Shah ( right ) expressed fear of an influx of bogus foreign students flooding the country in pursuit of Malaysian PRs.

He suggested first giving a two-year student pass as a precautionary measure before considering giving them PR status.

However, he also echoed the other educationists' opinions that social problems will increase with such a move and that it is better to develop local talent.

Hamid said that the government is calling Malaysians who have migrated to return but must also offer tempting incentives.

He added it was better to capitalise on Malaysians' abilities rather than beg for foreign talents.

NUTP secretary-general Lok Yim Pheng said creating a talent-friendly atmosphere will encourage more Malaysian professionals to serve the nation.

She said employing foreign talent is only a short term solution which will not contribute to the continuity of economic progress of the country.

In the long term, she said it would be better to encourage bright students by practising meritocracy in awarding scholarships as well as in gaining employment to the civil service.