Malaysia Remains Magnet To Lure Talents Back Despite Economic Challenges

By Muhammad Ammar Shafiq Hamzah KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 10 (Bernama) -- Malaysia remains a magnet to attract back its talents overseas despite the currency depreciation and economic challenges that are being faced by the country. Talent Corporation Malaysia Bhd (TalentCorp) Chief Executive Officer Johan Mahmood Merican said Malaysia’s economy was still strong, paving the way for great opportunities for our talents overseas. "Even in the current situation (economic challenges), Malaysia’s economy is still actually a lot stronger if you compare with many other economies around the world...our economic fundamental is strong. "At least in Malaysia they still get professional opportunity where they can grow and develop because we are the centre of Asia with a concentration of growth," he told Bernama at the Australian Human Resources Institute (AHRI) graduation ceremony here. At present Malaysia as well as other countries are facing economic challenges, including currency depreciation, a dip in oil prices and other commodities. However, Malaysia’s economy expanded moderately by 4.9 per cent in the second quarter (Q2) of 2015 as compared to 5.6 per cent in the first quarter (Q1), driven mainly by private sector demand. Johan said Malaysian talent overseas were not motivated purely by monetary factors, but also took into account other factors. "Sometimes they want to return to Malaysia because they want to be back together with their family and friends, and I think we still have a strong proposition for them. "Talent Corporation will continue to work with the employer to attract our Malaysian professionals and also students abroad," he said. AHRI is an Australian association that represents human resources (HR) and people management, in which its professional development programmes offer comprehensive content that are being developed based on over 70 years of education and training experiences. Asked about the AHRI programme, Johan said TalentCorp was pleased to work with AHRI to strengthen HR capability in Malaysia, towards ensuring that the country’s talent pool was better optimised. "It is important for HR professionals to be benchmarked against international standards, I am pleased to see more employers seriously investing in upskilling their HR practitioners," he added. -- BERNAMA