Last March, then human resources minister V Sivakumar said 1.86 million Malaysians had migrated abroad as of 2022, with 1.13 million of them moving to Singapore.

He had also said the country’s migration rate of 5.6% was higher than the global average of 3.6%.

However, Zaliha told the Dewan Rakyat today that the country did not have any official figures or percentages on the number of Malaysians working abroad.

“I agree that we need to curb the brain drain to other countries. We need to develop a better system to identify them (Malaysians working abroad),” she said.

Zaliha added that the government had implemented several measures to curb the brain drain, including a wage hike for civil servants which comes into effect in December.

She was replying to a supplementary question from Roslan Hashim (PN-Kulim-Bandar Baharu), who had asked whether the government considered brain drain a “win-win situation” as Malaysians working abroad returned with more talent, experience and skills.

Zaliha had initially answered a question which Oscar Ling (PH-Sibu) posed to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim about the government’s efforts to prevent the brain drain.

Last September, Anwar said the government was looking into ways to address the brain drain by attracting skilled Malaysians to return and contribute to the country.

Noting that numerous scholars, economists and accountants had either left the country or were planning to do so, he said the government had to offer them incentives that would encourage them to return.