Sabtu, 23 April 2011

BLOG - BLOG PARTI DAP

BLOG - BLOG PARTI DAP


Hannah Yeoh

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 07:31 AM PDT

Hannah Yeoh


Focus on the family

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 10:07 AM PDT


This month, my focus turns to families. Focus on the Family Malaysia, a smart partner of the National Population & Family Development Board (LPPKN) approached my office and asked if I was keen to participate in their Couple Checkup program. This Couple Checkup (details of which you can find in the column below) is now made available to residents of DUN Subang Jaya for free!! (the ordinary price is RM60 per couple). I am once again channelling the state allocation provided by the Selangor State Government for programs in Subang Jaya back to the people. It is my hope that married couples would seize this opportunity to participate in this program. The Checkup report would be given to each couple to assist them in improving and enriching their marriage.

Marriage is the oldest and most sanctified institution in our society. Subang Jaya residents are often busy with work, activities for their children and friends. Sometimes these can cause stress on our marriages. I am married too, so I understand the demands of work which can subtly come in between husband and wife. When marriages are healthy and fulfilling, we become more productive in our work and our children will be blessed. A stressed marriage can have negative impact on our children. 

I am constantly finding ways to improve the lifestyle of residents in this constituency. Whilst MPSJ focuses on improving infrastructure facilities, I hope to play my part in improving the areas less talked about (which are equally important to a thriving neighbourhood).

So please make full use of these benefits, limited to first 100 married couples only. You will need to sign up at my office (both husband and wife). Addresses must be verified to confirm that you're a resident in this constituency and then collect a voucher which provides the password for the test to be done. You will be given private space to do this test in my office. Contact person is my assistant, Debbie Phang - debbie@dapsj.com

Whether you're newly married or will be celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary, this test will benefit you! Suitable for all races.

Lim Guan Eng

Posted: 23 Apr 2011 01:35 AM PDT

Lim Guan Eng


If there is any generalisation of the Sarawak general elections is to be done it should not be based on demographic trends based on race but geographical trends based on location.

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 08:55 PM PDT

In this holy Easter celebration to mark the crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the Lord Jesus resurrection, is also an occasion to to renew Christians' vows of faith in truth, hope and love. Christians regardless of skin colour have prayed for peace and prosperity. Christians have also prayed for wisdom and compassion in our leaders. Most important of all Christians pray for truth to guide Malaysians in our daily affairs.

All religions celebrate these common values of truth, unity in diversity, freedom of choice and peace. We must seek truth from facts and not allow sentiments to be ruled by blind emotion.

Those fanning racial sentiments by accusing DAP of playing racial politics should cease immediately. The results of the 2011 Sarawak Election have proven that the desire and movement for change is not confined to one community alone but spread across the various communities of Sarawak.

The Pakatan Rakyat's success, and the DAP's in particular, would not have been possible without the increase in support from all communities in Sarawak. This is especially evident in semi-rural seats such as Kidurong, Piasau, Batu Kawah and Meradong, all of which were won by the DAP. Even PKR's narrow loss in Senadin exemplifies this point. For a clearer perspective, refer to the table below.


Source: Bridget Welsh/MKini

As Prof Bridget Welsh has stated in her detailed analysis of the election results, increase in Opposition gains is most obvious in mixed constituencies and semi-rural areas. In addition, it would appear that in many areas, the Opposition swing is even more obvious in non-Chinese communities, as the following table illustrates.


Source: Bridget Welsh/MKini

However, it is important to note that the swing is not uniform across the state. There are pockets in which the BN managed to achieve swings in their favour. This applies to Chinese-majority seats as well, such as Bawang Assan, in which our candidate lost by an increased margin compared to 2006. This is to be expected in a state as large as Sarawak, and where the divide between Chinese and non-Chinese but more between rural and urban.

Factors such as access to information, local issues and candidate choice played key roles as well. The BN was able to mitigate their losses by replacing many unwanted incumbents with new faces. However, as the results have shown, there was not enough effort put in. Many of the old guard were shown the exit, most notably Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr George Chan.

Prof Bridget's hypothesis is supported by Dr Ong Kian Ming's analysis, which shows that 23 non-Muslim Bumiputra-majority seats experienced an increase in support for the Opposition. Again, while this pattern did not propagate itself across the board, the level of shift is enough to concur with Prof Bridget's view that the Ibans, Bidayuhs and in particular the Orang Ulus, have indeed moved towards Pakatan Rakyat.

In addition, it would also appear that our Pakatan Rakyat coalition managed to increase gains in 13 Malay/Melanau-majority seats, as compared to gains in 8 seats for the BN. According to Dr Ong, this would not have been possible without an increase in Bumiputra support for the Opposition.

In other words, if there is any generalisation of the Sarawak general elections is to be done it should not be based on demographic trends based on race but geographical trends based on location. PR won more votes or more seats because PR won the urban votes regardless whether they were Chinese, Dayak or Bidayuh. BN managed to retain their seats because they still retained or did not lose sufficient rural support whether they were Chinese, Dayak or Bidayuh.

Hence, those trying to twist the result into a racial issue are acting irresponsibly. What is crystal clear is that the voter rejection of Barisan Nasional has less to do with racial considerations but more to do with the issues afflicting them. Sarawakians have declared in a loud voice that they have had enough of Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud and his brand of monopolistic politics. They have rejected his brother-in-law George Chan and by voting in 15 Pakatan Rakyat assemblymen, they have sent a clear signal that Taib must leave immediately.

The results also mean that Sarawak is no longer BN's 'fixed deposit'. The shift in voting pattern not only in urban areas, but also in semi-rural and rural areas such as Ba'kelalan and Krian is proof that there is widespread discontentment with the BN Government.

The rakyat of Sarawak are tired of the widespread abuse of power, corruption, cronyism and lack of infrastructural development while the political elite manage to accumulate massive wealth for themselves. If Taib Mahmud still does not go now, then the swing towards PR will be more pronounced in the coming parliamentary general elections.

Press Statement By DAP Secretary-General And MP For Bagan Lim Guan Eng In Kuala Lumpur On 23.4.2011.
——
民主行动党秘书长兼巴眼区国会议员林冠英于2011年4月23日在吉隆坡发表声明:

如果要概括砂州选举,那不应该以人口统计、也不是以种族为根基,而是地域性的地理趋势。

这是纪念耶稣基督被钉死在十字架上以及复活的神圣日子,也是一个重订基督徒对真理、希望及博爱的誓约的场合。不论什么肤色的基督徒都祷告世界和平及昌盛。基督徒也祈祷我们的领袖拥有智慧及怜悯之心。最重要的是,基督徒祈祷全民每天都得到真理的指引。

所有的宗教所提倡普世价值观:真理、多元团结、选择的自由及和平。我们必须找出真相,不要让感情被盲目的情绪凌驾。

那些指责民主行动党玩弄种族情绪的煽动性种族情绪应该马上停止。2011年砂州选举成绩已经证明不只一个社群渴望求变及要改变,而是整个砂州各个社群的共同愿望。

要不是砂州各个社群的支持率上升,民联,特别是行动党不可能取得成功。特别是在半城乡区如基杜弄、卑尔骚、石角及马拉端,这些都是行动党胜出的议席。就连公正党在史纳汀区微差败阵也可以证明这一点。下表可以说明:


资料来源: Bridget Welsh/当今大马

正如Bridget Welsh教授在她的选举分析中指出,在野党在混合选区及半城乡区取得的支持率明显地增加。很多地区,非华裔社群的反风也更加明显,见表如下:


资料来源: Bridget Welsh/当今大马

但是,我们要注意,反风并没有在全砂吹起,国阵依然在一些地区保住支持度。这种情况也出现在华裔人口多数地区,例如:巴旺阿山,我们的候选人比2006年输得更多。这种情况在砂拉越这样大的州属是正常的,存在着华人区或非华人区的分割,而更多的是乡区和城区的分割。

其它因素如资讯的获得、地方议题及候选人的选择也扮演重要角色。 国阵以新面孔来取代许多已经被人民厌弃的议员,从而减轻了他们的失败程度。但是,也有很多老将落马,最明显就是砂州副首长丹斯里陈康南。

Bridget教授的假设获得王建明博士的分析支持, 他指出有23个非回教土著多数的议席对在野党的支持度增加。同样地,这种情况也不能一概而论,但是这种反风已经与Bridget教授的看法一致,后者认为伊班人、比达友人及Orang Ulus的支持率已经转向民联。

同样的,民联也在13年马来人/马拉诺占多数的选区获得更高的支持度,国阵只在8个议席的支持率增加。王建明博士指出,如果不是因为土著对在野党的支持率增加,上述情况根本不可能发生。

换句话说,如果要概括砂州选举,那不应该以人口统计为根基,也不是以种族为根基,而是地域性的地理趋势。民联获得更多选票及更多议席,是因为民联获得乡区人民的支持,不论他们是华人、达雅人或是比达友人。国阵成功地保住议席,因为他们还保持或没有失去足够的乡区支持率,不论他们是华人、达雅人还是比达友人。

因此,那些企图将砂州选举成绩变成种族课题的人士是不负责任的。很显然地,选民唾弃国阵,并不是因为种族考量,而是因为那些影响他们的议题。砂州人民已经大声地表达出他们受够了砂州首长丹斯里阿都泰益玛目及他的垄断政治。他们也拒绝了泰益的妹夫陈康南,因此他们投选了15名民联代议士,他们已经发出明确的讯息,那就是泰益必须马上下台。

选举成绩证明砂州已经不再是国阵的"定期存款"。投票趋势的改变不只发生在城市地区,也同样发生在半城乡区及乡区,例如:峇加拉兰及克瑞案区,这些都证明人民普遍上不满国阵政府。

砂州人民已经厌倦国阵政府滥权、腐败、朋党及基建不完善,但是政治精英却不停地为本身积累财富的局面。如果泰益玛目现在还不下台,那么人民肯定将会在来届的全国大选更加明确地表态支持民联。

Lim Kit Siang

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 11:41 PM PDT

Lim Kit Siang


Is Najib becoming another Pak Lah – a Prime Minister whose writ does not run in UMNO?

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 11:12 PM PDT

The question many are asking is whether the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is becoming another Pak Lah, the fifth Prime Minister whose writ did not run in Umno although he was also Umno President ending in his ignominious exit as Umno chief and prime minister. This question has become more pronounced after Najib's [...]

S’wak polls: Reality check for Pakatan

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 09:13 PM PDT

By Bridget Welsh Apr 23, 11 The simple fact in the wake of Saturday’s polls is that Pakatan Rakyat has failed to dent the two-thirds majority in Sarawak and deliver the needed electoral gains to push Abdul Taib Mahmud from office. Much has been made of the unfairness of the polls, the use of money [...]

Postal votes which are never posted

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 03:29 AM PDT

By Ivy Kwek APRIL 22 — Having acted as a coordinator for polling and counting agents for the Opposition campaign in the recently concluded Sarawak state election has made me more confused about the rationale of the electoral system in Malaysia, in particular with regard to postal voting. Under Malaysian election laws, postal voting is [...]

Did you hear about the Bidayuh who voted for DAP?

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 02:16 AM PDT

By June Rubis April 22, 2011 We were like a bad bar joke: two Bidayuhs, a Lun Bawang, an Iban, and two Malays walk into a DAP ceramah in Kuching. The crowd is mostly Chinese, and the speeches so far are all in Mandarin. "I don't understand what they are saying," I complain to my [...]

Challenges for BN, Pakatan after the S’wak polls

Posted: 21 Apr 2011 11:44 PM PDT

By Ong Kian Ming Apr 22, 11 In Part 1 of my analysis on the Sarawak elections, I explained the opposition’s failure to deny the BN a two-thirds majority in terms of the insufficient and unevenly distributed non-Muslim bumiputera (NMB) vote swing against the BN. The complexity of the changes in the level of BN [...]

Charles Santiago

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 11:27 PM PDT

Charles Santiago


கிள்ளானில் அணு உலை கட்டுமானத்திற்கு எதிர்ப்பா? சார்ல்ஸ் சந்தியோகோ விசாரிக்கப்பட்டார்

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 01:13 AM PDT

மூலம் :- மலேசியா இன்று 22 Apr

கிள்ளானில் அணு உலை கட்டுமானத் திட்டத்தை எதிர்த்து கூட்டம் கூட்டியதற்காக டிஎபி கிள்ளான் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சார்ல்ஸ் சந்தியாகோ மீது காவல் அதிகாரி ஒருவர் புகார் செய்ததைத் தொடர்ந்து கடந்த ஏப்ரல் 3 இல் அக்கூட்டத்தை ஏற்பாடு செய்த சார்ல்ஸ் சந்தியாகோ கிள்ளான் போலீசாரால் விசாரிக்கப்பட்டார்.

கடந்த புதன்கிழமை கிள்ளான் காவல் நிலையத்தில் வாக்குமூலம் அளித்த பின்னர், சார்ல்ஸ் "இது ஜனநாயக நாடு, நமது எண்ணத்தை தெரிவிக்க கூட்டம் நடத்த நமக்கு உரிமை இல்லையா?", என கேள்வி எழுப்பினார்.
 
"இது தனி மனிதனின் அடிப்படை உரிமையாகும். நமக்கு பேசும் சுதந்திரம் உள்ளது. நமது எண்ணத்தை தெரிவிக்க உரிமை உள்ளது. மேலும் சொல்லப் போனால் இவ்வாறான கூட்டத்திற்கு போலீஸ் பாதுகாப்பு வழங்கியிருக்க வேண்டும். ஆனால் என் மீது போலீஸ் நடவடிக்கை எடுப்பது எனது உரிமையையும் கிள்ளான் மக்களின் உரிமையையும் சேர்த்துப் பறிக்கும் முயற்சி", எனக் கூறிய சார்ல்ஸ், "அதே நாளன்று கேப்ஸ் மற்றும் அம்னோ நடத்திய மறியலுக்கு எதிராக எந்த ஒரு போலீஸ் நடவடிக்கையும் எடுக்காமல் அமைதியாக இருப்பது ஏன்?, என்று வினவினார்.
 
கிள்ளானில் அணு உலை கட்டுமானம் எவ்வளவு ஆபத்து விளைவிக்கும் என்பதைப் பற்றியும் அது எவ்வளவு அபாயகரமானது என்பதைப் பற்றியும் பொது மக்களுக்கு எடுத்துரைக்க வேண்டிய கடப்பாடுள்ள நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினரான ஒருவர் இக்கூட்டத்திற்கு தலைமை தாங்கியதற்காக அவர் மீது நடவடிக்கை எடுக்கப்பட்ட அதே வேளையில், பாலாய் போலீஸ் உத்தாரா காவல் நிலையத்தின் முன் "டத்தோ டி" ஆபாச வீடியோ பற்றி புகார் தாக்கல் செய்ய கூட்டம் கூட்டியவர்கள் மீது எந்தவொரு நடவடிக்கையும் எடுக்காமல் இருப்பது ஒரே மலேசியாவின் இரட்டை வேடத்தை மிகத் தெளிவாக காட்டுகிறது என சார்ல்ஸ் சாடினார்.
 
"ஆனாலும், இதற்கெல்லாம் நான் பயப்படப் போவதில்லை. கிள்ளானிலோ, மலேசியாவின் எந்த ஒரு மூலையிலே அணு உலை கட்டக் கூடாது என்பதையும் அது மக்களுக்கு எத்தகைய ஆபத்தைக் கொண்டு வரும் என்பதை பொது மக்களுக்குத் தெரிவிப்பதும் எனது தலையாய கடமையாகும். இது சம்பந்தமாக மக்களிடம் விழிப்புணர்ச்சியை ஏற்படுத்தும் எனது முயற்சியும் பணியும் மேலும் தொடரும்", என திட்டவட்டமாக கூறினார் சார்ல்ஸ் சந்தியாகோ


சரவாக் மக்கள் எழுச்சி பெற்றதே மக்கள் கூட்டணியின் மகத்தான வெற்றி: சார்ல்ஸ்

Posted: 21 Apr 2011 11:41 PM PDT

மூலம் :- செம்பருத்தி

Friday, April 22, 2011 11:19 am

சமீபத்தில் நடைபெற்ற சரவாக் மாநில பொதுத் தேர்தலின் முடிவு, சரவாக் மக்கள் எழுச்சி பெற்று விட்டனர் என்பதனை மிகத் தெளிவாகக் காட்டுகிறது. இதுவே மக்கள் கூட்டணிக்கு கிடைத்த மிக மகத்தான வெற்றி என பெருமையாக கூறிக் கொண்டார் கிள்ளான் நாடாளுமன்ற உறுப்பினர் சார்ல்ஸ் சந்தியாகோ.

சரவாக் நகர்ப்புர மற்றும் நாட்டுப்புறம் மக்களின் ஒத்துழைப்பும் ஆதரவும் மக்கள் கூட்டணியை 16 தொகுதிகளில் வெற்றி அடைய செய்துள்ளனர். கடந்த 50 ஆண்டுகளாக அதிகாரத்தைத் தன் பிடிக்குள் வைத்திருந்த தேசிய முன்னணிக்கு இந்த வெற்றி பெரும் மருட்டலாகும் என சார்ல்ஸ் கூறினார்.

தேசிய முன்னணிக்குக் கிடைத்த வாக்கு விகிதம் எட்டு விழுக்காடு சரிந்து 55 விழுக்காடாகியுள்ளது. சரவாக் தேசிய முன்னணியுடைய பாரம்பரியக் கோட்டை எனக் கருதும் போது அந்த வீழ்ச்சி குறிப்பிடத்தக்கதாகும் ஆதலால், இதுவரை சரவாக் தங்களது கோட்டை என மார்தட்டிக் கொண்டிருந்த தேசிய முன்னணிக்கு இனிமேலும் அது அவர்களது கோட்டை இல்லை என்பதை சாதித்துக் காட்டிவிட்டது மக்கள் கூட்டணி என சார்ல்ஸ் சந்தியாகோ பெருமிதம் கொண்டார்.

ஆகவே, சரவாக் மக்களின் எதிர்ப்பார்ப்பே அரசாங்கத்தை மாற்றுவது என தெளிவாகப் புலப்படுகிறது. அவர்கள் விழிப்படைய தொடங்கிவிட்டனர். மாற்றத்தை ஏற்படுத்துவது மக்கள் கையில்தான் உள்ளது என சார்ல்ஸ் சந்தியாகோ கூறினார்.


Maklumat Tidak Telus Isu Lynas

Posted: 21 Apr 2011 11:33 PM PDT


反對雪州不法陣線示威‧查爾斯抨警雙重標準

Posted: 21 Apr 2011 11:29 PM PDT

Souce: Sin Chew


Blog@Wengsan...博客@永山

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 09:26 PM PDT

Blog@Wengsan...博客@永山


A mature two-party system is the best way to protect and preserve the rights of all Malaysians including Malaysian Chinese

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 12:05 AM PDT

健全的两线制才是保障全体国人尤其是华裔同胞权益的最佳途径

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 12:03 AM PDT

MY VOICE FOR NATION

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 01:02 PM PDT

MY VOICE FOR NATION


Challenges for BN, Pakatan in post-S'wak polls

Posted: 21 Apr 2011 07:37 PM PDT

Sweet and sour aftermath of S'wak polls

Posted: 21 Apr 2011 07:20 PM PDT

Philosophy Politics Economics

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 09:24 AM PDT

Philosophy Politics Economics


MCA should dissolve itself

Posted: 22 Apr 2011 12:05 AM PDT

DAP dares MCA to dissolve and call for Najib's resignation
By Clara Chooi April 21, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 — The DAP challenged MCA leaders today to dissolve their party or call on the prime minister to resign should he lose Chinese community support in the coming general election.
DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang charged that the MCA was being hypocritical in calling for Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud's resignation due to his failure to deliver the Chinese vote last week, pointing out that the MCA itself had performed no better in Election 2008.

In the Sarawak state polls last Saturday, Barisan Nasional (BN) lost 16 seats to the opposition, most of them Chinese-majority urban seats.

In Election 2008, MCA suffered its worst ever electoral defeat when it saw its parliamentary representation cut by more than half from 31 to just 15 seats.

"Now they are asking Taib to resign on grounds that he lost the Chinese vote. Will they apply the same standard to PM (Datuk Seri) Najib (Razak)?

"And why is MCA still in the Cabinet? Why was MCA's president (Datuk Seri Dr) Chua Soi Lek so keen on securing his son (Chua Tee Yong) a deputy minister's post?" Lim asked.

DAP publicity chief Tony Pua, who led the party's campaign in Sarawak, agreed, saying that the MCA should "dissolve" itself for having failed in its purpose of representing the Chinese community.

"If you are talking about support based on race, the MCA has failed to represent the Chinese. So their organisation is completely irrelevant. They should dissolve themselves," he said.

Lim and Pua were responding to a statement by MCA vice-president Gan Ping Sieu yesterday calling for Taib's resignation due to the outcome of Saturday's polls.

The DAP leaders also berated MCA's Loh Seng Kok for "insulting the intelligence of Sarawak voters" when he claimed the Chinese community had been duped into voting for the opposition for racial reasons.

"They are insulting their intelligence because Sarawak voters, all those who supported DAP, were voting for the Pakatan Rakyat (PR). They were voting for new politics which surpasses racial boundaries," said Lim.


Pua said it was the SUPP which had played the race card.
He pointed out that the outcome of the Sarawak polls had not only shown an increase in Chinese community support towards the DAP but an improvement in support from all communities towards PR as a pact.
This, he said, was mirrored in how the opposition had managed to increase its popular vote from 37 per cent in 2006 to 45.5 per cent or 300, 288 votes while BN managed to secure 54.5 per cent or 372, 379 votes.

"MCA and Gerakan leaders are feeling so aggrieved that they were treated with utter contempt in Sarawak that they are making these nonsensical statements.

"It is their way to vent their anger. They should know their days are numbered unless they change and rise above racial politics," said Lim.

Pua also pointed out that it was the MCA's parallel, the Sarawak United People's Party (SUPP), that had played the race card in the polls in order to convince people to reject the opposition.

In its campaign, the SUPP had warned Sarawakians that they would lose Chinese representation in the state Cabinet if they voted for the DAP.

On April 16, however, the DAP scored an electoral upset by winning 12 of the 15 seats it contested, most of them Chinese-majority urban seats.

The SUPP was nearly wiped out when the party, which claims to represent the Chinese, won in just six of the 19 seats it contested, only two of which were Chinese majority while the rest were Dayak seats.

"I want to challenge MCA to point out when and where in our entire campaign in Sarawak were we racist? Go back to school and learn what racism is.

"Fighting corruption, abuse of power and nepotism is not racism. These issues cut across the races and if MCA thinks they are racist, they should evaluate their own party constitution which prohibits other races from taking part in their organisation," said Pua.

Lim agreed, pointing out that the MCA and Gerakan were largely to blame for the SUPP's fall in Sarawak as leaders for both the peninsula-based BN partners had joined in the election campaign.

"The real reason why SUPP did so badly was because of the assistance rendered by MCA and Gerakan leaders who have only served to highlight the need for the country to rise above race and go for new politics. Since peninsula voters have rejected Gerakan and MCA, the Sarawak voters are doing the same.

"Nobody cared about them in Sarawak. Not just that, they were treated like garbage and with utter contempt," he said.

Malaysia's brain drain

Posted: 21 Apr 2011 08:03 PM PDT

Malaysia at economic crossroads as it fights the great brain drain Kuala Lumpur government announces new strategy to try and retain its brightest sons and daughters from emigrating

Dustin Roasa in Kuala Lumpur
guardian.co.uk, Thursday 21 April 2011 18.47 BST



Sheng Cai Lim is a skilled and experienced IT professional, an asset to a country that aspires to grow into a fully developed nation by the end of the decade. There's only one problem. Lim, 29, isn't sure he wants to stay in Malaysia.

Lim says it's 50/50 that he'll leave. "I'll likely go to Singapore for a few years, and then after that maybe Canada or New Zealand," he said. He's on a six-month sabbatical from work and recently registered with head hunters who place candidates abroad. "My friends overseas wonder why I'm still in Malaysia. They say there are better opportunities abroad," he said.

If Lim does make the move, he'll join the 1.5m Malaysians, or 5.3% of the population, who live and work outside of the country, according to the World Bank. By moving to countries such as Singapore, Australia and the UK, these migrants are creating a considerable brain drain that threatens the country's economic progress.

"Brain drain is hurting the country's drive to move up the value chain," said Dr Ooi Kee Beng, senior fellow at the Institute of South-east Asian Studies in Singapore. "The fact that Malaysians fill many of the top and middle management posts in the region, from Shanghai to Singapore, tells us that the country is bleeding talent."

The problem has been getting worse in recent years. More than 300,000 Malaysians left the country between March 2008 and August 2009, compared to nearly 140,000 in 2007, the deputy foreign affairs minister, Tuan A Kohilan Pillay told parliament. Many work in key sectors such as finance, technology and engineering.

Two factors are driving the exodus, said Tony Pua, MP and member of the opposition committee on the ministry of higher education. "First, there's simple economics. You can make more money overseas," he said.

The other cause is the country's race-based affirmative action policies, Pua said, which favour ethnic-majority bumiputra, or sons of the soil, over minority Chinese and Indians, who make up 24% and 7% of the population, respectively.

"The two problems exacerbate each other. The economy has not been growing, and there's an increasing demand for a bigger piece of the pie among bumiputra. As a result, the government is more prone to implement policies that favour them, and minorities feel excluded. It's a vicious cycle," Pua said.

Malaysian law provides bumiputra benefits such as rebates on property prices, quotas for university enrolment and civil-service jobs, and preferential treatment for government contracts, among other advantages. The laws, which were enacted in 1971 in an attempt to redistribute wealth in the wake of race riots in 1969, distinguish Malaysia from other Asian countries with brain-drain problems, such as the Philippines.

In interviews with Malaysians living in Kuala Lumpur and overseas, frustration with these laws and worries about rising racial tension and Islamic conservatism have led many to reconsider their futures in their country of birth.

"Malaysia is a very controlled and fanatic country," said Janath Anantha Vass, 29, an ethnic Indian accountant in Kuala Lumpur who plans to move to Australia. "Melbourne suits my lifestyle the best, and I feel that's the place for me."

The Malaysian government is attempting to respond to the problem with an array of programmes, including 1Malaysia, a campaign designed to ease racial tensions. In January, Prime Minister Najib Razak launched the Talent Corporation, which seeks to lure back skilled Malaysians. But many are sceptical that these programmes will address the systemic problems driving brain drain.

"I'm not sure how effective Talent Corporation will be. Past programmes like this have not worked, and I'm not sure how this one is different," said Evelyn Wong, an ethnic Chinese economics student at Scripps College in California, who blogs about brain drain.

But Dr Kim Leng Yeah, an economist at Ram Holdings in Kuala Lumpur, said Talent Corporation did at least demonstrate the government's willingness to address the issue. "There has been a lot of public scepticism," he said. "But it is a proactive move." Representatives at Talent Corporation declined to comment.

As Lim, who is ethnic Chinese, considers his future, he has spent time thinking about his place in multicultural Malaysia. "I do realise that I am a minority in this country," he said. "My family is encouraging me to leave. They say, 'Malaysia doesn't want us anymore, so why stay?'"

And while he hasn't given up on eventually returning, he would have to see significant changes before doing so. "It doesn't feel like the country is mature enough to tackle its problems right now. When we are ready to face our problems, I'll be ready to come back," he said.

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