Shortage??

Read a very "interesting" headline in The Star Online.. It said "Malaysia shortage of engineers".. and I was like: "Mmmmm...., now only they realized ah??!!"

Having been in Singapore and now in Japan, I can say that almost 70% of the Malaysians that I knew in both places are engineers... Heck, even my brother and I are engineers.. together with both my housemates who graduated with an engineering/IT degree, there are so many Malaysian engineers around, just not IN Malaysia.. And I thought with the disproportionately large number of universities in Malaysia and the way the enrollments are met, this "conveyor-belt-styled graduate churning machinery" will ensure that thousands of graduates are produced every year, and yet they still complain about not having enough engineers??? Thus shouldn't the authorities think of some practical solutions to fix this problem, rather than to pay lip-service by repeating the same things every year, knowing that it would not bring a different result??

It is always easy for the authorities to say, "Please come back and contribute to the country!" and/or appeal to our nationalism/patriotism/what-ever-ism, but have they ever thought of the reason why people go OUT of the country in the first place?? They cannot expect citizens to "sacrifice" themselves for the country by forgoing good opportunities just because the government ask them to... I never believed that people can be so selfless and I have yet to meet one who is.. There is a limit as to how much one is willing to sacrifice before considering one's own livelihood and future prospects.. I need to feel that my efforts will be appreciated and not "scape-goated" every time an election or by-elections comes.. Call me materialistic, but I strongly believe that self-preservation comes before patriotism.. and thus I am not willing to die for my country because I know I will definitely die in vain..