Brain drain to Singapore: A case study of Malaysian accounting professionals

Fierce competition for skilled labour between countries is the indirect result of globalization and this has led to intense labour mobility worldwide. Most fre-quently observed is the outflow of professionals from developing countries to the developed nations. More often this happens at the expense of the developing countries. Malaysia is one developing country that is not spared from this phenomenon. This is damaging to the country’s economy. This research was motivated by the increasing number of Malaysian professionals fleeing the home country to serve in foreign lands. This study addresses the need of these experts in the home country to improve the nation’s economy in order to achieve the high income status by 2020. Thus, the present study examined the relationship between the variables and Brain Drain. The sample population is accounting professionals based in Kuala Lumpur and Penang because these are the urban areas that contain offices where accounting personnel can be found. This research constitutes an empirical study which utilizes a cross-sectional research design. The present study has employed both the questionnaire approach and the face-to-face interviews to enhance the value of the research. Questionnaires were administered via drop off/pick up method, email and snowball. The Partial Least Squared (PLS) Method was used to analyse the data collected from the survey. The findings of the study show that Better Perks and Benefits, Quality Work Life, Ease of Immigration Procedures, International Exposure, Greater Job Availability, and Social Network have a significant impact on Brain Drain and that the Big 5 Personality and Proactive Personality moderate the relationship between the main variables and Brain Drain. This study reveals that besides money, job satisfaction should also be an area where employers should focus since without job satisfaction, people are compelled to leave. The government should also mobilise their officials abroad to ensure that Malaysians abroad are always in touch with the home country and that relationship is not severed. Host countries also could assist in collecting taxes on behalf of Malaysia. Thus it is recommended that Malaysia take proactive measures in order to curb the Brain Drain phenomenon.