AFTER the 14th general election, there was a prevailing sentiment among many overseas Malaysians of wanting to return to the home of their childhoods.

Most longed to just soak in the environment of a new government, a novelty in our nation’s 61-year-history. Some even dared to think of something more than a holiday back home and put into motion plans to relocate back to Malaysia.

At a dinner in Beijing yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad touched on the dilemma of many overseas Malaysians when he urged them to come home and help rebuild the nation.

Admitting that Malaysians returning home would likely have to settle for lower salaries, Dr Mahathir, however, said the rewards would be far greater than monetary.

Indeed, the driving force for most Malaysians in returning home is rarely for financial gain or even career advancement, but rather for less material gains, such as being closer to family and having the opportunity to contribute to nation-building.

In the same vein, the main factors that deter overseas Malaysians from returning home are not related to salary or tax reliefs, but rather concerns that they will come back to a nation which identifies its citizens by race and religion.

Nearly one million Malaysians are currently living or working abroad. According to a World Bank report released in 2011, there were 385,000 Malaysians working in Singapore in 2010, Australia (116,193) and the United Kingdom (69,939).

More than 50% of all those working abroad were tertiary educated, the report said.

During an interview years ago with former Talentcorp chief Johan Mahmood Merican, I asked for a racial breakdown of Malaysia’s growing diaspora, to which Johan replied, “I believe it’s time we look at this problem through a different lens.”

Race, he insisted, was no longer a main issue in the problem of brain drain as those leaving would more accurately be profiled by their income levels, abilities and exposure.

Emigration, he insisted, was becoming less a result of racial polarisation than it was about those seeking better quality of lives.

But one only needs to step into any overseas gathering of Malaysian migrants to know that Johan’s take on the causes of brain drain might be flawed.

Apart from the copious amounts of kuih-muih, nasi lemak or mee siam goreng that are always served at these gatherings, conversations always inevitably drift to the beloved tanah air.

The nostalgia and the childhood memories slowly move on to more unpleasant experiences, either in the workplace, or with their children’s education, or just with their resentment towards the perceived shortcomings of the previous government.

And sadly, racial and religious prejudice is almost always a factor – even if just part of several – that pushed many Malaysians to leave.

It would be wonderful to be able to tell all the overseas Malaysians I know that they would no longer be elevated nor limited based on their race, gender or religion in this post-GE14 Malaysia.

It would be my greatest joy to be able to answer “Yes” to the many, many overseas Malaysians who have been asking me if racial politics is now a thing of the past or if their children will be raised in a colour-and-religious-blind country if they would return.

But the sad fact is, as much as GE14 was our country’s second chance at getting it right, we have a long way to go before the damage of the past few decades can be undone.

Hopes of our new government disbanding race-based policies in exchange for a more needs-based approach grow dimmer as politicians attempt to balance between doing the right thing and keeping their conservative voters happy.

On the ground, recent surveys on the majority race and their anxieties surrounding a new line-up of multiracial leaders show us there is still so much distrust among the communities.

These are the realities which every Malaysian, local and abroad, must come to accept.

For Malaysians longing to “balik kampung” after May 9, I believe it will be a homecoming adventure that you will never regret. 

But don’t come home with rose-tainted expectations, instead be mindful that a change of guard had taken place on May 9, but not much else will be changed in the near future.

But also take heart that May 9 has shown us that what was once deemed impossible and not even worthy of a dream, can be reality when the people want it bad enough.

And one day, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, Malaysians will want bad enough to be rid of the racial lenses that have for so long obstructed our unity and held back our growth. – August 24, 2018.

* 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.