KUCHING: Malaysian leaders need to start helping citizens and develop local assets for Malaysia to be respected, said academician Dr Frank Kiong.
Frank, who is now working in the Middle East, said the Malaysian government should emphasise ‘Malaysianisation’ and help the people to gain specific skills through being better educated instead of helping others who come in for ‘transit’ only.
He said the government of the day should and must take care of the people as they are the most important assets that will help Malaysia progress.
“In fact, the government of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is putting so much emphasis on developing their own talents by providing full financial assistance to their citizens to further their studies as they strongly believe that the success of their countries will be dependent on their people,” said Frank in a telephone interview yesterday.
The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, originally known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf except Iraq.
“So, they invest in their education instead of on foreigners,” he added.
Frank opined that the federal government must prioritise local talented Malaysian students before helping any foreign students, adding that he cannot comprehend why the government has to provide scholarships to foreigners to study in local universities while deserving Malaysians are denied these benefits.
“The governments of particular countries always prioritise their own citizens. But for some Malaysian leaders, they may be looking for fame and accolades,” he said on a social media site.
“Our PM has been telling the world that Malaysia’s debt is so great and yet they still can afford to give scholarships to foreigners.”
He said this is unfair to Malaysians who badly need financial support from the government to further their studies in universities but have to forego this.
