KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 – Malaysia will face the challenge in the form of a shortage of highly skilled workers by 2025 as more and more people choose to migrate abroad for better income and benefits.

Chief Executive of the National Heart Institute College, Professor Emerita Dr. Durrishah Idrus said this phenomenon has a direct impact on critical sectors such as nursing and medicine.

“In Malaysia, there is a shortage of nurses and our nurses are highly regarded abroad – in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Australia, almost everywhere,” she said.

However, in the domestic context, the shortage of staff in government and private hospitals continues to be a worrying issue and needs to be resolved immediately.

“Some foreign workers are already in the service sector and have become a challenge to the locals because employers tend to choose those who are willing to accept a low salary bracket. But our people want a guaranteed life until old age and retirement. So it is unfair to blame local workers alone,” he explained.

He stressed that long-term solutions need to be based on real data involving employment status, salary scale and the marketability of graduates, and not relied solely on perceptions.