We don't need Talent Corporation

I am very sad whenever people talk about the Brain Drain issue. Everyone seems to have an opinion especially senior Government leaders but none were able to point out what I call the immediately executable solution!

To overcome this issue of Brain Drain, we now have a Talent Corporation under the Prime Minister's Department. If I may, I say we don't need this Talent Corporation. What for?

Each year, a scholarship fund which amounts to BILLIONS OF RINGGIT is created to ensure that 2500 of our top students get proper and high quality education.

Out of this figure, approximately 1500 gets to go overseas to universities like Yale, Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE, ANU, Melbourne, Osaka and many more. The remaining 1000 students are sent to top local colleges such as Taylor's, INTI, and HELP to pursue a foreign degree locally.

Of course, we have the local public universities JPA scholars also but unfortunately, I don't have any figures for that pool.

These are the top universities in the world whose graduates get employed by Barclays, Mc Kinsey, Macquarie and many more top institutions in the world. I am not making up stories and any senior HR executive can clarify this.

Surely, these graduates mean something. Unfortunately, the Government is not exploiting this pool of talent (JPA sponsored students with contractual bond).

My fellow taxpayers. Let me tell you.

1. Our money is used to sponsor 2500 students ANNUALLY


2. Only a handful is called up to serve their contractual bond with the Govt.
   


3. The rest either proceed to stay on at the host country, work in Singapore (closest model of Malaysian lifestyle) or end up working in Malaysian private sector.


4. Even if called up, scholars are not given proper jobs that match their specialist knowledge and in fact.
   


5. In fact, if a scholar is called up, there are loopholes around the JPA - SPA system which a Oxford scholar can probably exploit and continue with his work at Barclays while totally ignoring the Government's notice or his contractual terms.
   

Now, I have no problems with scholars who end up working in Malaysian private sector. But there is no clear mechanism that all those 2500 scholars, who didn't get a "please serve your contractual bond" notice from Govt, end up contributing to the nation.

It seems to me many are in the first and second category - stay on at the host country or work in Singapore, the closest model of Malaysian lifestyle.

So yes, my fellow taxpayers. We have been financing the brain drain probably up to a conservative estimate of 1000 top scholars per year (out of an estimated 2500 private education scholars).

Now, tell me, why the hell do we need a Talent Corporation to identify talent when we are not even exploiting the academic but unpolished talent of Malaysia in the form of JPA scholars?

I do understand. JPA might not be able to hire all 2500 JPA scholars ever year. I have no problems with that.

But the geniuses in Government should have considered a solution to this. In the scholarship contract, it is easy to put in a clause to say that the JPA scholars are required to serve in the country with any company for a certain number of years, if not for the Government.

Don't tell me this can't be done. I heard Singapore is using this clause too.

If given a chance to act on this, I will surely tell those who walk the corridors of power that we don't need a Talent Corporation for now and please make full use of the 2500 students which the Government sponsors every year.

Every year, my fellow taxpayers, we are the financiers of the Brain Drain in Malaysia. On top of that, we have loopholes to the whole system! When will the leaders come to their senses and at least listen to me?

We really need a Civil Service Transformation Programme.