TALENT-DRIVEN economy generally means the ability of the workforce to exceed any other drivers of economic development.
To fulfil this objective, Malaysia must be prepared to invest in the knowledge, capabilities and skills of the workforce through education, training and social support.
In this regard, we believe that all parties — government agencies, private firms, corporations, non-governmental organisations and the community — have contributed significantly to the formation of talent over the years.
However, the most important measure after recognising talent as the important driver of the economy is to determine the deployment of talent. This includes initiating and arranging related policies, processes, procedures and norms in shaping the talent so that it can be deployed productively.
Appropriate approaches will also reduce the gaps between industry's demands and the talent created, as well as encourage government agencies and private firms to explore new areas that have the potential for the talent and economy to grow.
In Malaysia, we have extraordinary talent in various fields. Some have had offers from abroad but they return home with high patriotic spirit.
Others may not have the opportunity to serve in the country for various reasons such as their talent not being needed, disproportionate remuneration, bureaucracy or lack of support or opportunity to break the monopolies and traditional business models.
This makes "brain drain" a never-ending issue in Malaysia. It is undeniable that wealth is one of the motivations for people to work.
Islam portrays wealth as a blessing and a test to human beings. The companions of Prophet Muhammad SAW such as Abdul Rahman bin Auf RA, Zubair bin Awwam RA and the wife of the Prophet SAW himself, Saidatina Siti Khadijah binti Khuwailid who was rich, gave a lot of charity and contributed in the name of Allah SWT.
The difference is, wealth in Islam must be obtained from legitimate paths, to be spent on permissible things, to avoid prohibited practices such as monopolies, hoarding, gambling, usury and oppressing others.
In the current context, there are two perceptions of how people look at talented self-made rich individuals.
FIRST, people take inspiration from their success in building and offering their talent; and,
SECOND, people may question whether the wealth of these "talented" individuals are based on their genuine talent or simply a result of poor decisions made by firms. For example, poor recruitment of "talented" individuals in firms or strategic institutions due to factors of favouritism, corruption and others.
Inefficiency may rise from this practice when a genuinely skilled individual is not given the opportunity to fulfil the recruitment objectives. Firms may incur monetary losses when they have to pay high remuneration for incompetent individuals.
Time and energy are also wasted as the task that should have been completed by the "talented" individual has to be done by others.
Islam opposes such practices since they lead to misuse of power, unnecessary costs, is unjust to others, etc.
Apart from this, we may also actually be overly generous in offering opportunities to talented individuals. In other words, we may place too much attention, expectations and responsibility on these gifted individuals without taking into consideration that they may have their own dreams, needs, hobbies, families and feelings.
Malaysia once recorded several genius individuals who were identified at a very young age. However, not all of these individuals went on to achieve greatness in terms of contributions to the country.
We are responsible for the failure to continuously polish and support their talent. We may fail to take into consideration factors such their age, mental and physical health and needs that may cause them to have extreme duress.
That is why talent deployment is important if we intend to keep polishing new talent and get the maximum benefits from them.
As we step into 2022, we should be aware of the importance of talent as an economic driver. Malaysia can no longer rely on cheap labour and traditional business models to attract foreign investments.
It takes a strong political will to see talented Malaysians, especially youths, to have a fair and equitable opportunity to showcase their innovations and expertise for the sake of the nation.
The writer is a senior researcher at the Centre for Economics and Social Studies, Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM)
