Why Leave?

 

National Registration Department director-general Badril Hisham Alias released the latest statistics on the number of Malaysians who have relinquished their citizenship in the past five years. It stands at 61,116. It should concern Malaysians. Of this, 93.78 percent of those who renounced Malaysian citizenship choose one neighbouring country, the issue is not migration. It is failure.

Citizenship, in theory, is supposed to represent belonging, opportunity, and protection. However, for a growing number of Malaysians - especially those in their prime working years - it has become an economic handicap. Lower wages, slower career mobility, rising cost of living, and weak social safety nets turn being a Malaysian into a financial sacrifice. The numbers tell a brutal story. The largest group relinquishing citizenship is aged 21 to 40, representing young professionals, skilled workers, and parents raising families. These are precisely the people Malaysia claims it wants to retain. Instead, we are exporting them.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org

Women are leading this trend, with over 35,000 of them renouncing their citizenship. And it is not simply due to marriage. It reflects how Malaysia’s policies repeatedly place women in impossible positions - between family unity and legal status, between children’s security and national allegiance. When the system forces families to choose, families will choose survival over symbolism.

The Singapore factor exposes an uncomfortable truth. Malaysia competes directly with Singapore and is losing. It is not because Singapore “steals” our people, but because it offers what Malaysia increasingly does not - predictable wages, dignified work, efficient governance, and a future that feels planned rather than improvised.

If this trend continues, the question will no longer be about how many Malaysians are leaving but who’s left to build the country.

Radical thinking and radical reforms are required. But Madani doesn’t want to rock the boat. No point having Talent Corp. Its performance is below satisfactory, not because it is not competent but national policies don’t work well to retain the good ones. This is an emotive issue, and only rational people can work-out potential solutions.

Reference:

Letter | When citizenship becomes a liability, not privilege, KT Maran, Malaysiakini, 8 January 2026