LETTER | Adopt meritocracy with Malaysian characteristics

LETTER | The issue of meritocracy has been raised and debated many times, and each ended up without any positive outcome. Let us take a re-look at this issue again, probably in a more open manner.

As with any issue that has its merits and demerits, thus casting a bearing across the board, probably a more rational and practical approach deserves further thought and consideration by those involved in decision-making.

In the Malaysian context, meritocracy adopted in absolute terms may not be practical, but on the other hand, rejecting it altogether will stifle our progress, rendering the nation to perpetually “run on the spot”.

All that we need to do is to take a quick look at some countries that have made great advances in recent years. Neighbouring Singapore is a very prominent example. In fact, Singapore is a big beneficiary of our indifference towards adopting meritocracy as an important criterion in our human resources development. Singapore's main strength lies in a capable workforce resulting from the tenets of meritocracy.

Another great example is China. Rising from the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1970s, China is now the envy of the US in every sense – scientifically, economically, and also militarily.

It is a fact that every nation is unique, and this uniqueness is mainly defined by its plural ethnic composition. Hence, no ideology or practice should be adopted for implementation in absolute terms. What we should and could do is to take a leaf off the Chinese experience, where it says China’s system of government is socialism with Chinese characteristics.

By the same token, Malaysia can also adopt meritocracy and apply it with Malaysian characteristics.

Learning from the experiences of others is nothing shameful. In fact, the big gain in learning from others is we shorten our learning curve significantly, thus enabling us to fast-track our goal achievement. It is exactly similar to a student learning from his learned teacher.

With the adoption of this policy, where meritocracy is deemed critical and crucial to move the country forward, it should be prominently applied, and this policy has another great advantage in arresting the brain drain. Losing talents should be avoided at all costs. Having spent huge sums of money to nurture them and then losing them is bad accounting practice. Thousands of highly talented and prominent doctors, scientists, and CEOs in Singapore and elsewhere are Malaysian nationals.

Areas critical to progress are education and research – research in all areas, such as medicine, Artificial Intelligence, data science, material science, physical sciences, and many others.

Meritocracy adopted in harnessing talents in these areas should propel Malaysia into a new era of progress and prominence. A sound education system, helmed by visionary leaders, is critical in mapping Malaysia’s future.

Having the current system of staffing important ministries and institutions based on affirmative policies will never propel the nation forward. It will eventually bring about suffocation and the end result is obvious.

It is my fervent wish that the authorities take a serious view of this proposal – adopt meritocracy with Malaysian characteristics. This policy will address our brain drain issue and, at the same time, move the nation forward. At the moment, Malaysia’s economic position is gradually being relegated, tailing many other Asean nations that used to look up to us as a progressive nation. We need to act fast in order to stop the rot.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.