The core team, youths representing the hopes and thoughts of Malaysians abroad had an urgent appointment with the CEO of Talent Corporation, under the purview of the Prime Minister's Office. Talent Corp was designated as the ‘recipient’ of the Wake Up Call Action in hopes to encourage them to devise policies which us youths believe should be implemented. Our mission? To help Malaysia improve the brain drain situation and move towards becoming a high-income nation.
Mr. Johan Merican is the man responsible in attracting our diasporas and retain highly valuable talent in Malaysia. With the daunting figures given by the World Bank, it is not easy task to gather information and execute successful programmes, which it already does in a number of ways to attract highly skilled Malaysians to come back and work in Malaysia. But as the Wake Up Call team realized, there might be something missing. First, the World Bank Malaysia report on Brain Drain hadn't much respondents – and did it directly engage with the youths itself? Seizing this golden opportunity, the WUC team has created the report gathering 500+ views and analysis of the situation from the youths and various industry experts themselves!
On 21.2.2012, after working throughout the night finishing up the report at around 6 am, we all caught some shut-eye for the big day. Despite our rushed condition, we woke up energetic and at 11 am we all met each other (for the first time) in Talent Corp's headquarters. Mr. Johan himself was very surprised, that the entire work was done online – and most of all – that this was our first in meeting the rest of the team. A project that was borne and conducted entirely through the web – shows the engagement level of youths in technology today.
He asked us critical questions about the report, combed through comparing the statistics of one data with the other. At most, he found out information that sometimes reinforces the World Bank Report, but contradicts it as well. He noticed that there are other policies which they can implement. What both of us concluded most from the report was that the Talent Corp outreach programmes needed to be marketed much more aggressively, as the diaspora know not the amazing and attractive benefits that lie in wait for them. A follow up to ask them on their knowledge and perception of these programmes was suggested, as well as a comparison of results between this and the World Bank report itself. Mr. Johan promised to read the rest of the report, and we believe, that it was a success to have handed it directly to him.
On the 24th of February, a rare opportunity arose - we met the 2006 Nobel Peace Price Laureate Mohammad Yunus, also a Counsellor for the One Young World Summit! The Coordinator, Editor an Art Director were present to hand him the Brain Drain Memorandum-Report. We met Mr. Yunus at a presentation for a Grameen-UKM (National Univeristy of Malaysia) social entrepreneurship initiative. Our enchanting meeting concluded with him telling us to ‘meet again at the Summit’ - referring of course to the One Young World Summit in Pittsburgh, 2012.
Media attention was great! Sin Chew Daily featured us, as well as a prime time television programme called Astro Awani and the first business focused IIPTV, HyppTV!
Malaysia has taken notice, and Malaysia shall Wake Up.
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