Past Events

Brain Drain : Who Gains? Who Sacrifices?

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* Please do note that due to unavoidable circumstances, the timing of the Penang Forum has been changed to 12 pm – 2 pm.

Exporting grey matter: What is the brain drain costing us?

Penang Institute, the public policy think tank of the Penang state government is proud to host a Forum entitled Brain Drain: Who Gains? Who Sacrifices? in four key Malaysian cities, namely Penang, Ipoh, Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur. The key presenter of these forums will be the project’s lead researcher and CEO of Penang Institute, Dr Lim Kim Hwa. In particular, our KL forum will feature important stakeholders in panel discussion, i.e Mr Mark Rozario, CEO of Agensi Inovasi Malaysia, Mr Johan Mahmood Merican, CEO of TalentCorp and Mr Wan Saiful, CEO of IDEAS. We trust that a panel of such high quality will help to inform the issue further.
 
Getting out of the middle income trap for a country is easier said than done. The need to innovate and move up the value chain hinges on talent. Malaysia requires a large and deep pool of talent to escape the middle income trap. However, ‘brain drain’ – a ubiquitous phrase used throughout the world to describe the flow of skilled migrants to developed countries, has been impeding Malaysia’s progress. In 2011, the World Bank reported that many of Malaysia’s best and brightest have left the country, citing better career prospects and social injustice as the main reasons for leaving.

This topic has, of course, been on the lips of many Malaysians for a while now. Why is it so important for the best and the brightest to stay in the country? What are the benefits to them if they leave Malaysia? Many would also wonder, what are the benefits or costs for them to return to the country? All of these has been discussed but yet very little is understood of the scale and the economic significance of this problem. A complete understanding of the magnitude of the problem is pivotal to devising the appropriate policies to combat the issue.

The Penang Institute would like to disseminate the findings and analysis of our study on this issue. We evaluated the economic gains one can achieve and the sacrifices one has to pay in this brain drain phenomenon in Malaysia. Thus we look forward to having you joining us at our Brain Drain: Who Gains? Who Sacrifices? Forum which would be held at the following dates and venues to accommodate your conveniences:

Penang
Date : 21 June 2014
Time : 12 pm – 2 pm
Please click here for registration and further information on the the Penang Forum.

Ipoh
Date : 22 June 2014
Time : 10 am – 12 pm
Please click here for registration and further information on the Ipoh Forum.

Johor
Date :  28 June 2014
Time : 10 am – 12 pm
Please click here for registration and further information on the Johor Forum.

Kuala Lumpur
Date : 05 July 2014
Time : 10 am – 12 pm
Please click here for registration and further information on the Kuala Lumpur Forum.

Due to limited seating for each of the forums, we require your kind assistance to reserve your participation as soon as possible.

For further enquiries, please contact Ms Kanchana / Ms Siou Woon at 04- 228 3306 ext 204/106.