Bare-faced economic fact: many Malaysian citizens are TOO competitive for Malaysia, and seek more competitive opportunities elsewhere; many Malaysian non-citizens are TOO competitive for their original countries, and seek more competive opportunities in Malaysia. Why is this considered a bad thing? Stop crying and whining for Malaysian citizens who have left to come back - they have left on rational grounds; likewise stop blocking Malaysian non-citizens from naturalising - they are here on rational grounds.
Unless the government can reverse the arrow of time, it is more efficient to embrace a national identity that changes progressively. Refusal to do so will demand resources to be expended on affirmative action to keep dying elements on life support while simultaneously poisoning the vibrance of elements better suited to the contemporary environment.
Mahathir's and the Trump administration have a few things in common. But tonight I'm thinking about their (relatively) monolithic views on national identity. While the US faces the mid-term migrant caravan, one in seven Malaysian workers is a non-citizen (citing the article attached). Arguments are thrown about for the protection of national identity by refusing citizenship to new-comers, whereas an unmitigated outflux of Malaysians seeking other citizenship creates plenty of space for the new-comers to perform, despite the absence of recognition for the latter.
It is my hope that the powers that be will consider this view, even if they do not adopt it quickly. Kementerian Hal Ehwal Dalam Negeri Kementerian Sumber Manusia Jabatan Perdana Menteri
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Footnote 1: a casual thought, M has built a starling political career on a platform of monolithic ethnic identity. Of late he and some of his peers (or colleagues, maybe he is peerless) have spoken of Malaysia being reshaped in a more egalitarian fashion (there, I dropped the e-word, which my college adored). It will be fun to see if and how that is played out over the next two decades. Further reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Malay_Dilemma
Footnote 2: Malaysia isn't the only country stuck in a sort of middle-talent/ middle-income trap. You can quantify quality of life, civil liberties etc. as "income" because it is welfare that accrues over time, and if you calculate total income based on a model like this, it makes a bit more sense. Further reading: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/commentary/brain-drain-hong-kong-taiwan-singapore-aspirations-identity-10314388
