KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 21 — "Social injustice” is one of the top three reasons why many Malaysians are migrating abroad for work, the Human Resources Ministry has reportedly said.

Deputy Human Resources Minister Mustapha Sakmud said that the Malaysians who left, especially professionals, claimed to be frustrated by the culture of using "connections” to move up the corporate ladder.

"Developed countries have better laws that protect their workers’ rights from any discrimination, and also provide better salaries.

"They are based on meritocracy, unlike in our ecosystem, which is sometimes based on connections or who you know,” Mustapha told the New Straits Times in a report published today.

The two other main reasons given were better career prospects and better remuneration, with the low salary rate in the country exacerbating Malaysia’s difficulty retaining professionals.

On the countries with the highest number of Malaysians working there, Mustapha said Singapore tops the list with almost a million, followed by Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada.

He said most were in professional sectors, such as the oil and gas, power, financial services and sales industries.

Mustapha, who is the Sepanggar MP, pointed out that the departure of these professionals will hinder economic development, exacerbate the issue of shortages of experts, reduce the nation’s ability to compete with others and slow down development and industrialisation.

"When experts with intellectual potential leave the country in large numbers, it will make it difficult for the country to maintain high intellectual and academic standards.

"These individuals are the driving force behind creating a more educated and professional society, nurturing and developing other talents,” he said, adding that the dynamic will lead to the issue of shortages of experts and reduce the nation’s ability to compete with other developed countries.

Mustapha said although the trend of Malaysians moving abroad was declining, he believed that the rate of Malaysians returning home was almost non-existent.

He said the current aim was to entice at least those in their 50s to return and assist the country by contributing their expertise and talents.

"Obviously, we can’t match their current income. But we do know that people in this age range typically would want to come back and contribute their expertise,” he said.

Regarding TalentCorp’s latest effort, Mustapha said the ministry’s agency had pushed for a "diversity and inclusivity” agenda at the workplace through programmes such as the Women Career Comeback and Flexible Work Arrangements.

He said this is to increase awareness of the importance of diversity and inclusion among employees and employers.

"With this initiative, returning Malaysians will find that their return would be appreciated and this can attract other top global talents to Malaysia.” he said on TalentCorp that was initially established to connect with the Malaysian diaspora and encourage them to return home to strengthen the labour force.