TALENT CORP TO KICK START OPERATIONS IN JANUARY

BRUSSELS, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- Malaysia's Talent Corporation will start its
operations in January, marking the start of a concerted effort to woo the return
of Malaysian professionals abroad, Prime Minister Najib Razak said.

He said the corporation would engage Malaysian professionals abroad in a
comprehensive manner, seeking them out and addressing their concerns about the
prospects of returning to Malaysia.

"Previously, we waited for them to get back to us but this time we will seek
them out.

"We will find out what it takes for them to consider going back home and at
the same time create more business opportunities and pay them wages that are
more aligned with the global wages," he told Malaysian journalists, here on
Sunday night.

Earlier, Najib, who arrived in this Belgian capital late Sunday to attend
the Eighth Asia-Europe Meeting (Asem) Summit, hosted an Aidilfitri dinner for
the Malaysian society in Belgium and Luxembourg.

The prime minister said that so far, the numerous initiatives implemented by
the government had been successful in injecting optimism among Malaysians abroad
who now saw the opportunities for them to return and contribute to the country's
development.

"They see a wider opportunity for them to play a role. I believe that if we
can implement our programmes in the near future, their level of optimism will
increase because they already like our new plans and strategies," he said.

The prime minister said effective and swift execution of programmes would
create a momentum for Malaysians abroad to consider returning home.

"I think the icing on the cake will be how fast we can implement the various
projects and business opportunities that have been identified; only then will we
be able to attract the Malaysian diasporas to consider going back," he said.

Earlier in his speech at the event, Najib told the Malaysians that things
were looking up in Malaysia and that he was confident that if everyone moved
together "as one people, one nation and as 1Malaysia", the country would be able
achieve what it had set out to achieve.

He said: "Some of you might think about coming back home, and some of you
who are married to Belgians, you can bring your spouses with you and they will
be allowed to work."

He said that Malaysia's policy was to be more open, saying he believed that
a society that was more open would be a society that would thrive in the 21st
century.

"A society that is closed up will not attract the best brains; it will
attract mediocre people and the good ones would have left the country, and we
will be a lot poorer as a result," he said.

In the speech, Najib also told some 250 Malaysians at the event that
Malaysia was going through an exciting time.

"We are now turning the bend and going the final stretch towards the year of
reckoning ... to become a developed nation by the year 2020," he said.

He also spoke of the 1Malaysia concept and said that it was not a slogan but
a guiding philosophy for Malaysia in formulating policies and actions.

"It does not mean that everything will be perfect, or that once we have a
concept, everyone will fall in line. You will have situations in which a few
individuals will make remarks about certain things.