PETALING JAYA: Singapore is tapping into the talents of Malaysia at lower secondary schools, says Leong Seng Yee, chief executive officer of United Chinese School Committee’s Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong).

Outstanding Malaysian lower secondary school students are offered scholarships to study in Singapore.

Leong said Singapore looks for talents in Malaysia early.

In an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily, Leong said Singapore ranks one of the top three countries for Chinese independent school students furthering their studies overseas.

“Without natural resources, human talents are Singapore’s greatest assets,” he said.

A survey carried out by Dong Zong indicated that Chinese independent school students choose to further their studies in Taiwan, China, Singapore, Australia and the United Kingdom from 2015 to 2019.

Leong said Singapore remains as one of the top three countries for Chinese independent school students to further their studies.

In 2015, 13.5% of Chinese independent school graduates furthered their studies in Singapore, followed by 11.38% in 2016, 10.59% in 2017, 8.69% in 2018 and 12.76% in 2019.

The statistics revealed that about 300 to 400 Chinese independent school graduates were studying in colleges and universities in Singapore each year.

In 2015, 370 students went to Singapore, followed by 309 in 2016, 318 in 2017, 293 in 2018 and 384 in 2019.

Leong said the number of Chinese independent school graduates pursuing studies overseas dipped slightly due to the weakening of ringgit but Malaysian talents still are up for grabs, especially in Singapore.

For years, Malaysians have been lured to study or work in Singapore either with scholarships or lucrative job offers.

The latest revelation shows that at least 30 medical graduates from Malaysia work in Singapore each year, causing a severe brain drain of medical professionals in Malaysia.