KUCHING: Recent comments on the brain drain have been misunderstood, said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
Responding to the criticisms through Bernama’s February 8 report titled “Brain drain phenomenon can still benefit the country – Fadillah”, he stated that he has never downplayed the brain drain matter, which the headline of the report seems to imply.
“If you read the full report, I said one of the factors for brain drain in the research and development field is the advanced facilities and ecosystems in other parts of the world like Silicon Valley in the US.
“This doesn’t mean that Malaysians who work overseas cannot contribute to Malaysia through their work. There is a silver lining. That’s my point,” he was quoted by Free Malaysia Today (FMT) in a recent news report.
He also added that the government was looking into strategies to retain talents and overseas Malaysians to head back to the country and work.
It includes various incentives and developing the local ecosystems in the various fields.
In 2022, think tank Emir Research made an estimation, in which over two million Malaysians live and work overseas, with 500,000 highly skilled people above the age of 25.
