Over 2,000 Malaysians overseas have returned home to work

TalentCorp managed to attract 2,316 Malaysians working overseas to return and serve in their own country, said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar.

He said since TalentCorp was established in 2011, it had received 3,848 applications from Malaysians abroad who wished to return to serve here.

"This is a big number compared to the 1,130 applications approved between 2001 and 2010, so the number (of applications) has increased and so has the rate of approval, to around 60 per cent."

He said this in reply to a question from William Leong Jee Keen (PKR-Selayang) on TalentCorp's success rate.

Abdul Wahid said efforts undertaken by TalentCorp to attract Malaysians overseas to return and serve in their own country was aimed at filling up the job vacancies in certain sectors in the context of generating economic growth.

"We want them to return and work for Malaysian companies, for instance, in the oil and gas industry and business services, and as medical specialists as we need them," he added.

The government had allocated RM65 million for TalentCorp since 2011 to implement programmes to attract talented and highly skilled Malaysians working abroad to return to their country to meet the need for such workers.