Brain drain—the migration of talent across borders—touches the core of Malaysia's aspiration to become a high-income nation. With human capital the bedrock of any high-income economy, Malaysia will need to develop, attract and retain talent. However the brain drain problem in the country does not appear to square with this objective: Malaysia needs talent, but talent seems to be leaving.
The World Bank in April 2011 released a report on brain drain in Malaysia. Melisa Idris speaks to Malaysian-born Dr Farish Noor, now with the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, on his views about the report and the issues surrounding this much debated topic. He talks about the lessons Malaysia can learn from other countries in retaining talent, and if the government incentives are enough to woo back professional Malaysians living abroad.
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