Come back and your spouse can work

NST: PUTRAJAYA: Foreign spouses of Malaysian experts are now permitted to work as part of the steps to boost the number of professionals in the country.
The Cabinet decided on Wednesday that this ruling applies to both husbands and wives who are professionals or experts in their respective fields.
Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn said the ruling applies to non-citizen spouses of those who return under the Expert Returnee Programme or those who come back on their own and are waiting for permanent resident status.
At present, non-citizens and those waiting for their PR are not allowed to work.
"The Cabinet felt that foreign spouses of Malaysians should be allowed to contribute and be gainfully employed, especially those with expertise not found in Malaysia or in areas where they can contribute very significantly."
Fong said he was aware of many medical specialists who had returned from Britain and the United States with their non-citizen spouses who are also doctors, many of them specialising in certain fields of medicine.
"While the Malaysian spouse works, the wife or the husband has to stay at home and is denied the opportunity to serve in the hospitals."
Fong added the Cabinet felt that this was a waste of expertise which could benefit Malaysians.
The Immigration Department has been told to look into speeding up the process to enable the foreign spouses to be employed.
When the Expert Returnee Programme was introduced in 2001, the government expected several thousand Malaysians abroad to return home and serve the country.
Until today, only 465 applications were received and approved, and only 311 had returned.
Among them were 149 doctors, 114 information technology experts and the rest were accountants, finance experts, industrialists and those in the field of science and technology.
The majority of those who returned were from Britain, the US, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Fong hoped the Cabinet’s decision would encourage more Malaysian experts to return home with their spouse and children.
"The foreign spouse will not need a work permit and even if there is a need for one, it would be approved without any problem whatsoever," he said.
The spouse and children can also get their PR status within six months and the children can study in international schools.
Other incentives include the bringing in of two vehicles without import tax. If those returning are from countries such as the United States and China, where left-hand-drive vehicles are used, they would be allowed to buy right-hand-drive vehicles from third countries and bring them in with no import tax.
They are also given the choice of buying two locally-assembled cars with no import duty and excise tax.
On top of that, they are also allowed to bring in two years’ earnings tax free.
On why many Malaysians abroad were reluctant to come back and serve, Fong said this was because only medical and financial experts could find jobs which offered the same pay as they got overseas.
He said experts in these fields could easily get between RM30,000 and RM40,000 a month which would allow them to live in the same way as they did in London or Hong Kong.
As for professors or lecturers, he said, the salaries offered at the local universities were much lower than those offered overseas.
"The salaries offered do not meet the international standards and so, it is very difficult to attract them."
Fong said that private sector bodies which offered salaries and remuneration on par with international standards had no problems getting Malaysians from overseas to join them.
As for returning scientists, Fong said, the government through the Science, Technology and Innovation Ministry was looking into a variety of schemes such as the availability of research grants.
"It’s important for us to get our scientists back.
"There are many Malaysian scientists working in Singapore, Hong Kong and London and we want them to return, especially those working in the areas of biotechnology, stem cell research and biofuel research.
"They can make use of natural resources available in the country."
Another area that is in need of Ma- laysian scientists is herbal medicine.
"India has done well and its herbal treatment industry is flourishing and so is China with its research programmes on herbal medicine.
"With our biodiversity, this is one of the areas where we need more experts."
Fong said the Health Ministry was working with the Human Resources Ministry to attract more Malaysian herbal scientists to return.