Two, yes TWO, good news recently that puts us high on the positive side.

First, we are among the top countries in the Global Peace Index, number 19th to be exact. Let’s see what our DG of National Unity and Integration Department says:

Malaysia leads Asean countries and ranks second in Asia, after Japan, in the list of countries which succeed in maintaining unity among their people.

National Unity and Integration Department director-general Azman Azmin Hassan said that based on the list issued by the Global Peace Index, Malaysia was at 19th position among the countries in the world.

“The country’s success in fostering unity has attracted the world to learn how Malaysia does it.

“This is due to the capability of the country’s leaders in maintaining unity among the people of various races, resulting in Malaysia being invited by the United Nations to table a working paper on unity in New York next month.”

He told this to reporters after the opening of the state-level Unity Week 2011 celebration at the Air Tawar Beach Resort in Besut today by State Health, Unity and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Dr A Rahman Mokhtar.

Azman said that with such a recognition given to Malaysia, there was no doubt about the peaceful situation in the country.

Hence, he advised the people to maintain racial harmony in the country and to cooperate with the government to avoid any incident that could jeopardise the harmonious situation.

source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/167333

Readers should then head to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index to read about this index.

The GPI’s website is at http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2011/conf/ and Malaysia’s details is at http://www.visionofhumanity.org/gpi-data/#/2011/scor/MY/detail as below:

PEACE INDICATORS	SCORE
Number of external and internal conflicts fought	1
Estimated number of deaths from organised conflict (external)	1
Number of deaths from organised conflict (internal)	1
Level of organized conflict (internal)	1
Relations with neighbouring countries	1
Level of perceived criminality in society	2
Number of displaced people as a percentage of the population	1
Political instability	1.5
Level of disrespect for human rights	2
Potential for terriorist acts	2
Number of homicides per 100,000 people	2
Level of violent crime	2
Likelihood of violent demonstrations	3
Number of jailed population per 100,000 people	1.5
Number of internal security officers and police 100,000 people	2
Military expenditure as a percentage of GDP	1.5
Number of armed services personnel per 100,000 people	1
Exports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 people	1
Imports of major conventional weapons per 100,000 people	1.5
Funding for UN peacekeeping missions	1
Aggregate weighted number of heavy weapons per 100,000 people	1
Ease of access to small arms and light weapons	1
Military capability/sophistication	3

Malaysia has been improving steadily over the years. This due to mainly our non-involvement in wars (external or internal) for the citizens, lower values for defence/military related indicators (except military capability).

As mentioned in the article above, we are number 2 (just behind Japan) in Asia and 19th in the world.

Next good news, The World Justice Project’s Rule of Law index says :

The World Justice Project’s (WJP) Rule of Law Index 2011 report revealed that Malaysia was ranked first among 19 upper-middle income countries for safety, putting the country on par with other nations such as France and Belgium.

Malaysia attained 12th position, one position ahead of United States which ranked 13th and Britain ranked 14th in country’s safety.

WJP Rule of Law Index director Juan Botero said the index measures implementation and enforcement of laws in practice and their effects on people’s lives.

The report showed that Malaysia scored 1 for effectively limited civil conflicts and 0.5 for the absence of crime and people not resorting to violence.

The Index score range is between 0 being the lowest and 1 being the highest.

WJP executive director Hongxia Liu said that acquiring the rule of law was an ongoing challenge and a continuous work in progress in all countries.

Liu added the Index is not designed to shame or blame but to provide helpful benchmarks for other countries in the same regions that had similar legal cultures and income levels.

source: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2011/6/20/nation/8925273&sec=nation

You can read the report of this index at http://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/wjproli2011_0.pdf (Malaysia’s statistics is on page 78).

Yes, we are 1st among the 19 countries with similar income, but overall we are somewhere in the middle.

??

Oh, you may want to read page 29 of the report as well:

As with many other countries in the region, Malaysia  presents a contrasting view. Compared with other upper-middle income countries, Malaysia’s government is relatively accountable, although corruption, political interference, and impunity still exist. The efficiency and transparency of government agencies can still improve, and efforts should also be made in the area of access to justice (ranking 44th globally, and 14th in the upper-middle income group). The country is safe, ranking 1stamong 19 income peers and on a par with countries such as France and Belgium. However, abuses by the police still occur. Of particular concern is the situation posed by violations of fundamental rights, where Malaysia ranks 59th out of 66 countries.

So we are doing not bad, but why Jobstreet survey says nearly 80% of the interviewees (700 of them) would work abroad if got the chance:

An online recruitment company said results from a survey on local jobseekers confirm that money, career growth and children’s education are the main factors behind the country’s brain drain.

JobStreet.com today released the results of their survey of 700 over respondents – over 80 percent of whom are in middle to senior positions – on their interests in working abroad, and the reasons behind it.

The survey revealed just under a third (33 percent) of the respondents are already actively seeking overseas employment while 30 percent are passively looking. Another 30 percent are still weighing the pros and cons of working abroad.

42 percent cited better income as the key reason for their choice, while 24 percent cited career advancement, and 13 percent were thinking of their children’s education. 

Unfortunately for the government and the Talent Corp, only 2.4 of the respondents said they were staying in the country to “contribute to national interest”.

Over half said they were not working abroad mainly because of their families.

Top in destinations for job seeking was Australia (24 percent) followed by Singapore (16 percent), followed by UK (15 percent), US (10 percent), Far East (8 percent) and New Zealand (7 percent).

The survey, conducted in May, comprised 40 percent senior executives, 29 percent managers and 16 percent senior managers, with junior executives making up the rest. 

Jobstreet said 60 percent were male and 40 percent female, while ethnic breakdown was not cited.

source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/167446

I guess the indices may not translate into a good environment in terms of wealth accumulation or career opportunities for those interviewed.

PS: I guess it will be similar next year.