Sunday, September 21, 2008

Thinking About: Migration (2)



Thinking About: Migration (2)

Reasons to stay, reasons to leave, reasons to stay alive...


Reasons to Stay:
1. The Malaysian community is a needy population. If (skilled and sincere) Malaysian doctors leave in great numbers, the negative impact upon a needy population is indeed palpable and tremendous.

2. I am indebted to the Malaysian taxpayers. My medical studies were subsidized 95% by the citizens as opposed to the government. It is only right and honorable to repay the people for without them, I would not be who I am today.

3. My family is here. My loved ones are here. My friends are here. My animal friends are here. My bonsai is here. A lot of what I treasure in life in here in Tanah Melayu, and not of them are mobile.

4. The Malaysian healthcare scenario provides adequate and wide clinical exposure and experience. I am making small but measurable progress in my clinical skills and acumen serving the people in the civil service.

5. Life in Malaysia is generally comfortable. I can drive a car out whenever I wan to and can choose from a great variety of food wherever I go. I can’t do all this in Singapore.

6. Change might come to Malaysia if Malaysians behave as they did during the March 2008 elections, where Christians voted for PAS, and Malay Muslims for DAP. There might be a glimmer of hope if Anwar Ibrahim takes over the government soon and lead the Pakatan Rakyat to govern at federal level.

7. Malaysia is merely my temporary transit point anyway. I have a home that is more majestic than any place on earth. As Jesus promised, “In my Father’s home are many mansions, I will go there and prepare a place for you”.



Reasons To Leave:
1. Malaysians (at least 49% of them) deserve the BN government they voted for. Everyone is entitled to personal choices as enshrined in the principles of democracy. Similarly, they should pay their price for making bad choices and resisting change.

2. What makes me think that I am indispensable or even of the slightest value of service to the people in the first place? Without any specialty training and knowledge and skills, the fruits of my labor are limited. Altruism without self-preservation is poor stewardship and utter stupidity.

3. I can take care of my loved ones much better when I am finally somebody in my professional career. I can make new friends and plant new bonsai and engage the company of new animal friends. Emigration might be the only answer if I were to build a more promising future for my future generations.

4. Nobody cares if you have skills and knowledge and a sincere interest in clinical medicine. In the end, being of the right skin color and ethnicity comes before one’s competency. My ex-coursemates in University Malaya who consistently flunk exams are already in the middle of their first year of specialty training under the racially-discriminating SLAB program.

5. Life might be better elsewhere. Just because I don’t know doesn’t mean it’s gonna be bad and worse. I should not be afraid to embrace change. I don’t wanna be static just because someone moved my cheese.

6. It doesn’t matter who is in power actually. In the end, it is the people who will determine the future of a nation. Malay supremacy and Islamic dominion will always be the order of the day, regardless whether UMNO or Keadilan rules Malaysia. As the Bar Council forum has shown, the PAS and PKR politicians are no different from their UMNO counterparts. Anwar Ibrahim might never take over the federal government. Worse, he might end up in jail as early as Sept 24 where his sodomy trial is set for mention in the courts.

7. Just because I have faith does not mean that I must lead the life of a martyr here on earth. God made life to be fulfilling and enjoyable. Failure to live my life and potential to the fullest is equivalent to making a mockery out of God’s creation.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

there is nothing wrong with wanting only the best for yourself.

move out if you think you can achieve greater heights outside of Malaysia.

you should place more importance on your life than the one that you think exists somewhere.

nobody owes you anything and vice versa.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing those thoughts.

"Be the change you wish to see" - Gandhi. These words have helped me to answer some of the questions that you posed (and that i too have thought about a lot). Also these words of "to be ultimately happy, one must be able to fight for a noble cause greater than oneself" - Ikeda, helped me to feel that what i am doing is not a sacrifice but is something worthwhile.

Hope you will find happiness in whatever path that you choose.

Anonymous said...

". I can take care of my loved ones much better when I am finally somebody in my professional career. I can make new friends and plant new bonsai and engage the company of new animal friends. Emigration might be the only answer if I were to build a more promising future for my future generations. "

Ha Ha Sounds like me.
Remember the govt aint gonna feed u + ur family.
;)
Also, if it's just Spore, won't you have the best of both worlds + Sing$$$$ TOO?
God Bless.

Anonymous said...

A note worth mentioning with regards to Singapore, you can get around but in an MRT. I was working there for a week and was placed in downtown hotel and I had to get to the far end of the island near the airport. I did this all with the MRT card. Compared to our LRT system, this is not only more efficient and easier to understand, it also has ample space even if you are standing. And food is not a problem there for me. Its like twice the price of KL but then again people are earning 2.5 times more than us. I feel not only safer there, but more relaxed. You have here fear of being nabbed and raped and bags snatched. there you dunt see people clutching their handbags or belongings(ipods,pda,etc) like paranoid androids like they do here. Look, if you can make it there, you can bring some family members along.

Anonymous said...

I was a Malaysian until I was 18. Now a Singaporean, I work and live in the United States.

Speaking from personal experience, there is no reason to stay in Malaysia if you a Chinese. The system works against you. Not just in work, but in all other parts of society.

And it's not just about you. If you have children, they will also be discriminated against in Malaysia. Unless ofcourse, you marry a Malay girl and convert to Islam and somehow get your kids registered a s bumis. But then you'll be selling out your family name and honor.

CK said...

hmm... sounds tempting....
im weighing too....
i hav the same reservation abt spore indeed haha...

Anonymous said...

to leave is the answer for any non-Malay/non-bumi in malaysia.

don't hope for any major change in the system, which is very obviously against non-malay. as all these changes needed majority votes in parliament which again will always be occupied by >50% of Malay/Bumi.

unless you think you can change the system one day... if you can't, then the next best thing would be to move to a place with a more immigrant friendly system.

in malaysia, your next 10 generations will still be treated like immigrants, in places like singapore,Australia, UK, USA, you future generations will hv equal rights, you can't even tell if any of your 2nd generation onwards would be their next president/PM!!!

those days, your grand grand parents came all the way from china, they left their country for themselves as well as for their future gens. maybe it's time to make a move again.

i wish you good luck!

Anonymous said...

The pasture is greener on the other side but you might not know the terrain there as well as in the current rocky pasture.
Embracing change, you need to overcome fear. Everyone needs an assurance that it is not going to be worse than current situation.
Singapore... yes... I am here... and it is a beautiful city-state... prim and order... everything is well planned (even the road pricing is all planned years ago and there are more newer tech than the ERP to come in the future)...
But can I truly call Singapore my home?
My country is still Malaysia despite the fact I am not seen as one who can contribute to her progress.
I wish I could be as altruist as LKS in saying I will work and die in my motherland.

Unknown said...

echoes of my own thoughts. i've not really entertained notions of moving out of Malaysia until faced with a lot of events in my life recently, forcing me to rethink my focus and vision in life.

it's a very difficult decision for me as I was looking forward to training in Malaysia but I need to go somewhere else in life. will tell u about my reasons later if you are interested to know.

Anonymous said...

Friend, life is a mystery, don't worry too much, and decide the path that you are happy with!!!

But please to give yourself too high hopes on our country to change..... there wont be any malaysian chinese nor indian becoming PM! hahaha

Malaysia has been and will always be THE system to fail non malays!!!

Hope you will find your way out of this!!! REMEMBER U wont hit two lottery in your life, having beaten the odds of 1 in a million for your MBBS!

Anonymous said...

God made the world so vast and diverse so that we can in our lifetime discover the country that suits us best.

It is definitely not wrong to migrate if you have tried your level best to improve a country which is not only resistant to change but also continuously deteriorating. When frustration builds up, the only way out is to migrate.

We can't be that selfish to think that only Malaysians need our service or that stupid to think that we can only serve Malaysians. I would not say that the pasture is completely greener on the other side, but I have to concede that there are greener pastures on the other side.

To say the least, I'm proud to be a Christian, I'm proud to be a Perakian, but I'm not proud to be a Malaysian. I strived to be patriotic, but my patriotism is wearing thin by the seconds.

Julia C said...

hey there! I lovey dovey love this blog of yours!
I'm a christian too! I totally love your views on our current political condition in malaysia (because I feel the same way too), the way you write. I am barely an SPM student, who hears news about Malaysia everyday.

To me, migration is just giving into the wants of UMNO, wanting the kononnya 'pendatang' to leave this country, which leaves them more space for themselves. I've heard that our prime minister of the past have thai, burmese, arab, hainan, blood.(interesting) But What actually qualifies to be called a Malay? mamaks (mahathir?) can be called a malay, but chinese malay.. not? I don't know much actually. But as to my understanding, other country's prime minister or president can be of any race, compared to what's going on in malaysia.

but in the end, i'm also waiting for my eternal home in heaven. I'm but a stranger passing by on earth. life is reasonably well in malaysia (good food and all those), so its up to the citizens to decide who rules this country after all. may the righteous party rule this country.

I'm still thinking what shall I do and where should I go after secondary education here. migration? permanently?

Product of the System said...

Dear Julia,

You make me feel like an old hag!

:)

SPM was so long ago for me. And all of us faced similar questions and predicament like yours after SPM, STPM, university and so on.

I always believe in the sunscreen song: Be careful whose advice you buy, but be grateful to those who supply.

All the best in your future undertakings.

Anonymous said...

its rather ironic for a socio-political blogger from msia who has much to complain about the pseudo democracy in his country, opt to migrate to spore, a similar democracy desert. if you seek financial remuneration and appreciation for your skills, regardless of political freedom, i suggest saudi arabia.