A one-stop agency will be set up to reduce bureaucratic obstacles for Malaysian experts who are returning to work Malaysia, Human Resources Minister Dr Fong Chan Onn said today.

Once their applications have been cleared, all benefits promised to these experts will be systematically processed and allocated, eliminating the need to deal with different government agencies.

"Once their applications are approved, other matters are consequential," he told reporters after a dialogue session with a group of 30 Malaysian experts who have returned to Malaysia under a programme launched by the government to lure Malaysian talent overseas back home.

The one-stop agency will involve all relevant government agencies such as the Immigration Department, the Inland Revenue Department, the Finance Ministry, International Trade and Industry Ministry and various professional bodies, Fong explained.

The government embarked on the programme early this year to persuade Malaysian professionals residing overseas to return home to fill shortages in various fields including accountancy, engineering, medicine and information and communication technology (ICT).

Fong has revealed in the past that for the ICT sector alone there were 35,000 vacancies. To date the government has received 346 applications from Malaysian experts overseas to return home of which 120 have been approved.

'Right time'

The government has strictly defined the word 'expert' with different criteria and qualifications for various areas of specialisation. For example, returning experts in ICT would need to have a minimum of five years working experience after obtaining their doctorate or seven years work experience with a Master's degree, eight years for a Bachelor's degree or ten years for a diploma.

Experts who return will obtain permanent resident status for foreign spouses within six months, a two-year income tax exemption for income remitted to Malaysia and tax exemptions for all personal effects brought into Malaysia, including two cars. Most of the expert returnees who were interviewed today claimed that they had always wanted to return to Malaysia.

One returnee, accountant Krishnakumari Balakrishnan, was happy that her husband, a foreigner, would be able to obtain permanent residence (PR) in Malaysia.

She said she had left for British Guyana in South America to work for a Malaysian firm there as she could not find a suitable job here.

"I'd always wanted to come back to Malaysia. I was waiting for the right time," she said.

Krishnakumari said prior to the programme, it was harder for foreigners who were married to Malaysian women to obtain PR status.

Although her husband's PR application is still being processed, he could start looking for job opportunities using an approval letter from the government, she added. Krishnakumari's husband specialises in agricultural business management.

Immigration problems

Engineer Mohd Ansari Abdulrahman, who spent six years working in the Silicon Valley in the US, said among the factors that motivated him to return were his family in Malaysia and a plan to start his own business here.

The programme's provisions for foreign spouses also influenced his decision since his wife is a foreigner, he said.

Accountant Yong Keong Sing, who is married to a Chinese national in the United Kingdom, said he had been facing immigration problems prior to the programme's introduction.

"I met my wife there (UK) but I could not return because of immigration problems. I thought I would have to settle there, but then this programme came up," he said.

"I hope the government will give what it has promised," Yong added.