原文：Mariam Mokhtar；翻译：姚文傑
Link: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/124652
Malaysia’s brain drain appears to be picking up speed. According to a recent parliamentary report, 140,000 left the country, probably for good, in 2007.
Between March 2008 and August 2009, that figure more than doubled to 305,000 as talented people pulled up stakes, apparently disillusioned by rising crime, a tainted judiciary, human rights abuses, an outmoded education system and other concerns.
The general assumption is that Chinese and Indian Malaysians form the majority of those abandoning the country of their birth because ethnic Malays consider them ‘pendatang’ – aliens in a Malay land, regardless of how long they have been in the country.
However, increasing numbers of Malays have already emigrated as well, or are seriously thinking it, dismayed by corrupt practices as well as the rigid confines of Islam and the rise of fundamentalism embodied in the revelation on Wednesday by Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein that three Muslim women had been caned in Kajang Prison in Selangor on Feb 9 for having had illicit sex under shariah law.
In 2000, according to figures compiled in 2007, 40 percent of Malaysian emigrants headed for Singapore – at the same time Singaporeans are headed somewhere else. By one estimate, the number who put the Lion City behind them is as high as 15 percent of annual births. In 2006, the Transport Minister, Raymond Lim, expressed concern that 53 percent of Singaporean teens would consider emigration.
One website survey put Singapore’s average outflow at 26.11 migrants per 1,000 citizens, the second highest in the world – next only to East Timor.
Of the other émigrés, 30 percent go to OECD countries (Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada and Britain) 20 percent to Asian countries (Brunei, Philippines, Indonesia) and the rest of the world (10 percent). Malaysian Employers Federation executive director, Shamsuddin Bardan, said in an interview that 785,000 Malaysians are working overseas. Unofficially, the figure is well over 1 million.
Nor are people all that is leaving. Asia Sentinel reported that there has been an exodus of money from Malaysia on a scale which surpasses that which occurred during the Asian crisis. The decline is also reflected in a sudden decline in base money supply – even while, thanks to Bank Negara, broader M2 has continued to grow modestly.
A major problem is the flight of graduates. As early as 2004, former premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was becoming concerned, pointing out that as many as many as 30,000 thought to be working in foreign countries, many of whom had held scholarships in top universities from the Malaysian government but chose to stay overseas at the end of their studies.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad demanded that other countries pay Malaysia for having seduced them to stay, “since, by right, the graduates’ training and knowledge should be called intellectual property.”
The typical reasons are well-documented: improved employment and business prospects, higher salaries, better working environments, greater chances of promotion and a relatively superior quality of life.
Three personal stories
Three Malay women put a personal face on statistics in conversation with Asia Sentinel, sharing their decisions to emigrate. Two are graduates of overseas universities, the third is from a local school. Their decisions to leave were made, they say, after a lot of soul searching. But for these women, money and economic incentives were not the end-all. Their names have been changed to protect them.
Anita claims to have left because of her sexuality. She graduated from a university in the United Kingdom but continued with a post-graduate degree course. At the end of her studies, she worked in a multinational corporation in London and is now a department head. She was recently married, in a civil ceremony, in the UK.
A Malay, Anita is naturally Muslim. Her partner is another woman, Nadia, an Iraqi Jew. They met as undergraduates. For a decade, the two made the annual pilgrimage to Malaysia to visit Anita’s ageing parents, Anita says. When in Kuala Lumpur, they are regular patrons of lesbian joints in Bangsar. After the Malaysian National Fatwa Council issued an edict banning lesbianism in 2008, Anita travelled alone.
Nadia dislikes the risk of being ‘caught’. The clues to their sexuality are their short cropped hair, Doc Marten shoes, preponderance of masculine clothes and, on closer inspection, their identical wedding rings with each other’s names inscribed. Anita is in self-imposed exile because her partner will not be allowed to reside in Malaysia.
Although male homosexuality is illegal in Malaysia and sodomy incurs a punishment of 20 years jail, Malaysia’s civil code does not ban lesbianism. Malaysian men are just so big-headed that they cannot imagine any woman not wanting to sleep with a man.
“It is unacceptable to see women who love the male lifestyle including dressing in the clothes men wear,” said Abdul Shukor Husin, the Fatwa Council chairman.
Perak mufti Harussani Idris Zakaria says that the council’s ruling was not legally binding as it had not been passed into law. He wants tomboys to be banned because their actions are immoral. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a law or not,” he says.
Living in a goldfish bowl
In 2000, Malaysia had around 80,000 official expatriates. By 2008, this figure had shrunk to 38,000 as the collapsing global economy cut into trade and thus trade and Malaysian exports.
When Bibi worked in an electronics factory in north Perak, little did she foresee marrying her expatriate quality control engineer. After his conversion to Islam and their subsequent marriage, he attempted unsuccessfully to gain permanent residence.
He claims to have spent a small fortune on lawyers, on ‘proof’ and photographs for the application process, and several trips to the immigration offices to be ‘verified’. He claims that one low ranking government official even offered him a birth certificate for RM60,000, as a pre cursor to a ‘red’ identity card, which would help facilitate the permanent resident status.
When Bibi’s husband’s work permit expired, he attempted to form a trading company. He travelled to the border every few months to renew his immigration-social visit pass, while he explored this avenue.
He was ineligible for a sole proprietorship and although he could form a limited company with 51 percent bumiputra ownership, he found that for one reason or another, it was not viable. Local partners wanted maximum profits for little or no work. A Caucasian, he was seen as a cash cow, he says.
In addition, the Perak town they lived in was very provincial. Had he lived in Kuala Lumpur or Penang, he could be anonymous, like the expatriates married to Malay women in these cities.
As an expat convert in his local town, the Malays expected him to uphold Malay values and scrutinised his every move, right down to his religious obligations. He was disillusioned with living in a goldfish bowl and both he and Bibi left for Europe.
40% of M’sian experts work in US
According to one local daily, the number of Malaysian researchers, scientists and engineers working overseas exceeds 20,000 with 40 percent of them in the United States and 10 percent in Australia.
When Ida graduated from Australia with a chemical engineering degree, she worked in a chemical plant in Selangor. Her friendship with a chemist blossomed into love, with talk of marriage. There was one problem – Anthony was a Catholic.
He dutifully presented himself at the mosque for ‘agama’ lessons in preparation for his conversion. The imam never appeared for their pre-arranged appointments. Frustrated with being let down repeatedly, he stopped going. His lucky break came when he was offered a job in a neighbouring country. Ida joined him.
She was free from parental and family pressures, he from the religious zealots. They married. He retained his faith, she remained a Muslim. They started a family and have since emigrated to New Zealand. Recently, she embraced Catholicism.
Malaysian emigration has critical policy implications. There are questions over what will happen when overseas students receive employment offers in the country where they are studying, when skilled people leave Malaysia, when pensioners retire abroad (the silver economy) and the nation registers an increase in unskilled foreign workers but a decrease in skilled expatriates.
The challenge for policymakers is to harness the economic and political potential of this largely ignored diaspora. There is no point pretending Malaysia does not have a serious problem. The
incentives to reverse the brain drain and attract those who are abroad must be reviewed, as they are currently ineffective.
For many like Anita, Bibi and Ida, it is not just politics and racial discrimination but also religious and social pressures that drive them away.
LINK: http://www.malaysiakini.com/columns/125189
马来西亚似乎有越来越多人才外流了。根据最近一份国会报告，2007年有14万人离开大马。他们或许就此一去不回头。
在2008年3月至2009年8月之间，移民人数增加超过一倍，达到30万5千人。很明显地，他们之所以收拾包袱离开故乡，是因为对犯罪率上升、腐败的司法制度、侵犯人权、过时的教育制度等等现状觉得大失所望。
大家一般的印象是：离开祖国马来西亚的大多是华裔和印裔，因为不论他们在这里住了多久，马来人还是会认为他们是外来移民（pendatang）——马来领土上的外国人。
回教极端化让马来人也移民
然而，与此同时，我国也有越来越多马来人移民，或者考虑着要移民。看着国内贪污成风、一成不变地限制回教、原教旨主义崛起的情况，他们灰心了。上星期三，内政部长希山慕丁披露，三名回教徒女子涉及通奸，触犯了回教法，而于2月9日在加影监狱被鞭笞。这意味着原教旨主义的崛起。
根据2007年的数据，四成的大马移民移居新加坡，与此同时，新加坡人却移居其他国家。根据估计，离开狮城的人数相等于该国一年新生婴儿的百分之十五。在2006年，多达百分之五十三新加坡青少年考虑要移民，新加坡交通部长林双吉（Raymond Lim）亦曾关注此事。
有一个网络民意调查显示，在新加坡，每一千人就有26.11人移民，移民率之高在全球仅次于东帝汶。
国外工作大马人达百万之众
大约30%的大马移民在经济合作与发展组织国家（OECD countries）定居，例如英美纽澳加；20%移民到亚洲国家，例如汶莱、菲律宾、印尼；10%则移居其他国家。马来西亚雇主联合会执行董事三苏丁峇丹在一项访问中透露，在国外工作的马来西亚人有78万5000人。至于非官方数据，则预测在海外工作的国人远远超过一百万人。
想要离开我国的，其实并不只是人才，就连钞票也想要跑路了。根据《亚洲前哨报》（Asia Sentinel）报导，我国资金外流程度超越了亚洲金融风暴的水平。货币供给遽减反映了资金外流现象，然而，多亏国家银行撑腰，货币供给依然持续适度成长。
留学生选择滞留海外不归
在海外留学的大马人选择不回国确实是个大问题。早在2004年，前首相阿都拉也曾关注此事。他表示，我们有多达30万国人在海外工作，其中有很多人是领着大马政府奖学金出国深造的，但是在毕业后选择留在国外工作。
前首相敦马哈迪曾要求其他国家，必须因吸引我国人才留在当地而付钱给我国，理由是“大学生的培训与知识也应被视为知识产权”。
我国人才留在国外的原因，大家都再熟悉不过了：就业前程似锦、更多商机、待遇更优渥、工作环境更好、晋升机会更多、生活素质更高。
三个心路历程故事
《亚洲前哨报》曾访问三个马来女子，让她们叙述自己为何要移民。其中两人在外国大学毕业，另一个女子则在本地大学毕业。她们表示，经过了一番自我探索之后，她们决定要离开大马。对她们而言，金钱与经济因素都不是主因。为了保护她们，她们的名字都已被修改了。
安妮达是因为自己的性取向而离开的。她在英国某大学毕业后，继续攻读博士课程。博士班毕业之后，她在伦敦一家国际机构工作，目前担任部门主任，最近也刚结了婚。
性向被排斥只有选择离开
身为一个马来人，她一出生就是回教徒。她的伴侣名为纳迪雅，是一个来自伊拉克的犹太女子。她俩是在大学时代认识的。这十年以来，她俩每年都会回到大马探望安妮达的年迈双亲，也常出入孟沙的女同性恋者场合。当全国回教法规委员会（National Fatwa Council）在2008年禁止女同性恋之后，安妮达就独来独往，免得引人注意。
纳迪雅不喜欢冒着“被逮捕”的风险。透露她们性取向的装扮，通常是留短发、穿马丁靴、多数穿男装，她们的结婚戒指也都刻着对方的名字。安妮达的伴侣不可居住在大马，因此她必须自我放逐。
虽然男同性恋在大马是违法的，肛交的刑罚是坐牢20年，但是我国民事法典并未明文禁止女同性恋。大马男人太自负了，他们无法想像世上有女人不想跟男人睡觉。
“女子偏爱男子生活方式、穿男装，这是很难令人接受的，” 全国回教法规委员会主席阿都舒库尔胡先说道。
霹雳州宗教司哈鲁沙尼表示，该理事会的规定还未在国会通过成为法律，因此都没有法律约束力。但是，“不管合法与否”，他都要禁止男人婆，理由是他们的行为举止不道德。
社会处处排斥外国女婿
在2000年，我国有8万名外派雇员。到了2008年，我国贸易与出口受到次贷金融风暴影响，外派雇员人数就下跌至3万8千人。
当碧比在霹雳州北部一家电子厂工作时，她根本没想过自己会嫁给来自国外的品质控制工程师。那位老外工程师皈依回教之后，他俩就共结连理，但是男方还是无法取得永久居留权。
律师费、申请过程的“证据”和照片、到移民厅来回好几趟的过程必须被“审核”，这些都是他破费的杂事。有一个低阶官员曾跟他开价，以6万令吉换取一张出生证明书。有了这张出生证明书，他就可以申请红色身份证，如此一来，他就能得到永久居留权了。
碧比丈夫的工作准证逾期之后，他曾尝试开贸易公司。在这段期间，他每隔几个月就得出入境一次，以更新旅游观光签证。
他并不符合经营独资企业的资格。虽然他知道自己可以开一家拥有51%土著股权的有限公司，但是不管怎样，他知道这是行不通的，因为本地伙伴希望工作少，最好是不用工作，但又要求赚最多钱。他说自己身为一个洋人，在这里被视为一棵摇钱树。
此外，他俩住在霹雳州一个偏远小镇。如果他住在吉隆坡或槟城，他就如同在这两座城市里跟马来女子结婚的外派雇员一般，没有什么特别。
像他这般的外派雇员入乡随俗之后，同乡的马来人都期望他维护马来社会价值观。他的一举一动、有否履行宗教义务，都被村人监督。他觉得失望透顶，就带着碧比远赴欧洲了。
希望皈依回教却困难重重
根据一份本地报章，在海外工作的大马研究员、科学家、工程师超过两万人，其中有四成在美国工作，一成落户澳洲。
依达在澳洲考获化工学位之后，任职于雪州一家化学工厂。她跟一位化学师堕入爱河，后来谈婚论嫁时面对一个问题：他的先生安东尼是一个天主教徒。
他尽责得很，出席了准备皈依回教的宗教课程，虽然已经事先预约好了，但是宗教司并不曾赴会。宗教司爽约好几次之后，他就不再出席了。后来，多亏幸运之神眷顾着他，他在邻国找到了一份工作，依达就跟随他远走高飞。
从此以后，依达从父母与家庭的压力中解脱了，安东尼则摆脱了宗教狂热份子。他俩结为夫妇之后，安东尼就重归天主教怀抱，依达则依然是个回教徒。这个新家庭后来移居到纽西兰，最近依达也信奉天主教了。
大马人移民的现象将产生重大政治影响。当海外大马学生选择留在国外工作，当技术人员离开我国，当银发族在外国退休（影响我国银发经济），当非技术劳工大举涌入我国而高技术的外派雇员却减少了，我国届时将会发生什么事？
这个移民潮现象被忽略了，控制移民潮所产生的政治、经济影响，是我国政策决策者的挑战。假装马来西亚没有面对什么严重问题，是无济于事的。既然现有的吸引大马专才回国计划不见效，当局就必须检讨现有的奖励计划，以扭转人才外流的劣势。
有些人也跟安妮达、碧比和依达面对相同窘境，对她们而言，迫使她们决定离去的原因，除了政治与种族歧视之外，也还有宗教与社会观感压力的因素。
