IT was barely six months after our historic May 9 general election, and I found myself at a slightly aged auditorium tucked away in an obscure building just off Singapore’s famed Orchard Road, waiting for the arrival of Malaysia’s then newly appointed finance minister.

With me was a crowd of some 500 Malaysians/former Malaysians, many of whom began gathering at said auditorium almost two hours before Lim Guan Eng’s scheduled arrival.

The DAP leader arrived on time, and after a short introduction, took questions from the eager crowd.

As with all forums, there will always be the random rants masquerading as questions. But tonight, those were rare. Instead, almost every Malaysian who fielded questions for the minister seemed to have one main question in mind: how can we contribute to this new Malaysia?

From marine biologists to IT experts, business owners and renewable energy specialists, the treasure trove of talent and experience was impressive, and everyone wanted to know how their years of experience and their passion to help rebuild our country could be chanelled in the right direction.

It felt comforting to be seated among Malaysians who have left the country for decades, some already Singaporean citizens for many years, but who remained passionate about contributing to the new beginnings of the country of their youth.

But the room full of enthusiastic Malaysians, or former Malaysians, also underlined the chronic problem of brain drain our country has faced in greater severity in recent years.

One young Malay man shared his experience of being offered “an irresistible deal” for a scholarship to a Singapore university after school, and how he ultimately settled down in his new home country.

He finished with a suggestion that Pakatan Harapan offer more scholarships for bright, local students to keep them from seeking greener pastures in resource-hungry Singapore.

“Singapore is very, very good,” said Lim, after a short moment of pondering silence.

“They are the best at taking good Malaysians away. They just do it better,” he concluded, to giggles from the crowd.

The World Bank reported that in 2014, Singapore’s population stood at 5.47 million, out of which more than half were permanent residents (3.87 million). Out of this number, 1.6 million were foreigners holding work permits.

While the government does not reveal the nationality of these PRs and foreign workers, it isn’t too far-fetched to imagine that Malaysians would rank highly among the foreign nationalities.

Figuring out what it is about Singapore that makes it appear so appealing to some of our best and brightest is also not rocket science, with its top-ranked universities and strong exchange rate.

While some have chosen to return home after completing their studies, or reaching their savings goals, the reality is that many more Malaysians have made Singapore their home, contributing greatly to the development and growth of the city state with one of the world’s highest gross domestic product per capita.

Of course, not all is rosy in Singapore, which has been flagged as one of Southeast Asia’s most vulnerable to the trade war between China and the US.

Singapore is also facing a growing income gap as middle-and low-income earners are increasingly feeling the pressures of living in a country that has been consistently ranked one of the most expensive states in the world to live in.

Freedom of speech and the media appears to be greatly curtailed, and the country also ranks rather lowly when it comes to progressiveness.

And yet, in spite of all its shortcomings, Singapore still manages to attract some of our best.

It could be that, as Lim put it, Singapore is just better at attracting Malaysian “brains”.

But perhaps it would be more accurate to say that for many of the millions of Malaysians who have left for Singapore, it is less about how good the republic is, and more about how little Malaysia has done to keep them home.

After the town hall session with Lim that night, I had a talk with Chester, a Malaysian who has been working and living in Singapore for eight years.

“Do I miss home? Every day,” Chester said with a laugh.

“With Singapore, it’s a transaction. For everything I give, I will get back what I’m worth.

“But Malaysia will always be home.”

Chester said he was hopeful that with the new government in charge, things would improve in Malaysia.

“The economy, the inequality among races; these are basically what makes it hard to keep Malaysians home when greater opportunities beckon,” said the new father of a baby girl.

“Maybe when these things change, Malaysians like me won’t have to look across the Causeway anymore.” – April 3, 2019.

* Julia Yeow has been in journalism for two decades and counts it as her first love, despite enjoying brief stints as a lecturer, clown and salad maker. She is a strong believer in social justice, and holds that there is sometimes more truth in the greys, than the blacks and whites.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.