THE force of Malaysian diaspora must not be underestimated. The number may be just one million, which is at best a guesstimate. We are yet to master statistics, it appears.
Doubtless, Malaysians are a scattered people across the globe.
Sometimes tragedies show this up, as tragedies often do. Like the one in Christchurch, New Zealand.
No, we do not need tragedies to show us the statistics of Malaysians at large. God protect us.
But is Malaysia using this human capital for the good of the country as other nations do?
No, we are not talking about shipping them back. Malaysia can gain from where they are, be it in London or Rome. We should mine the transnational bond this scattered population brings to the nation.
Not the Talent Corporation way of enticing them back home with offers of high salaries and perquisites. Yes, it is one way but not the best way to quarry human capital. Malaysia will always have to play catch-up when it comes to salary and benefits.
Reversing brain drain the Talent Corporation way is passe. And brain drain as a concept is outmoded, too. Brains don’t get drained. They get circulated. They just move to new geographical locations. And they are not lost to the nation either.
They add to and grow the brand name of Malaysia. Call them the unsalaried ambassadors of the nation. We should not attempt to pluck them out of the soil that fosters them.
Malaysians outside Malaysia are as valuable to us as they are here. Take the case of Tash Aw, a member of the Malaysian diaspora no doubt, who has made London his home. His The Harmony Silk Factory that tells the story of British Malaya took home the Whitbread Book Award for First Novel Award. And it was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize.
Another Malaya tale is The Rice Mother by Rani Manicka. These and other books published overseas sell Malaysia, perhaps better than sales pitches do. This may be intangible capital, but capital nevertheless.
Plus, Aw, Rani and many more carry within their brains a little Malaysia wherever they go.
The idea of this Malaysia gets exchanged in seminars, talk shows and what have you. These are unpaid ad copies that sell Malaysia. We must mine them.
And they are best mined in situ in foreign soil.
Malaysia’s diaspora are not a blot on the nation. And they should not be treated as such. We must understand that our diaspora went chasing a future they didn’t find here. It was neither their fault nor the nation’s.
Time and circumstances dictate such migration. Fidel Castro had an uncomplimentary nomenclature for Cubans who went abroad to reconstruct their lives elsewhere. His is one example we should not follow. Framing it as such distorts history. Disturbs it even.
Of course, there is money for Malaysia in remittance sent home by our Malaysians abroad. Again statistics are hard to come by, but worldwide some RM2 trillion is said to make its way to the homes of the diaspora. The biggest beneficiaries are unsurprisingly India, Mexico and the Philippines.
Malaysia may not be a huge recipient of remittance given the small number of Malaysians abroad, but the money sent home does have some impact on our ringgit.
But our diaspora are more than this. They are an extension of Malaysia. They can be our soft power.