Have you applied (or paid) for your Australian PR yet?
I'm sure many Malaysians would have known friends or family members who have already applied for Permanent Residency (PR) in another country or have already PRs themselves. Most people whom I know do at some point in their life thought of migrating to another country in search for greener pastures for themselves. A majority of them would say they are doing this because of their children's future. Some of their favourite countries Singapore, Australia and even New Zealand. As with the recent controversy surrounding the influx of Sri Lankan asylum seekers demanding to be relocated in Australia, AUstralia is indeed one of the most attractive destinations.
Since relocating to Brisbane for more than 6 months, I've found out there were three person whom I know who have recently decided to reside in Australia to qualify for their PR status. It seems all three went through some kind of agent (which is the hugely popular way of obtaining an Aussie PR in Malaysia) by paying tens of thousand MYR for the administration and application process. This is a relatively fast process if you are qualified (having said that, it seems almost anyone with a knowledge of English and a decent degree and work experience seem to quality quite easily). It is a big sacrifice for them to leave eveything back home in the hope of making it here in Australia.
Although I have only been in Brisbane for a short period of time so far, I could understand why many would want to migrate. Being a Malaysian, we are fortunate to be in a peaceful and stable country, so the reasons of war and hunger certainly doesn't hold any water here. The most attractive part of migrating would be the quality of life. Life does seem to be better here as with most developed countries, work life balance is the utmost importance. Flexibility in the workspace is a norm. At 3pm, you would see many people leaving their work and heading for home. There is also a choice of working part time which does allow families to continue to take care of their children. That is something difficult to achieve in Malaysia and hence the growing need of cheap slaves .. or rather cheap domestic foreign maids in Malaysia which I find worrisome.
The other thing which attracts me is the public facilities such as the parks and the numerous bicycle lanes. Australia is a country which you pay high taxes but know where your hard earned money is being spent. Parks are relatively safe with very strict enforment from the authorities. You certainly don't want to be caught screwing around here. The parks are filled with adults and kids especially during the weekends. The bicycle lanes are top quality. And mopeds are banned from bicycle lanes which makes it safer. I guess bicycle lanes will never make it in Malaysia since we have a huge number of mopeds and the infamous Mat Rempits.
Also, good public transportation. We haven't got a car here and probably will only plan to rent one when we actually needed it. I think we are doing pretty well without a car over here. We actually bought our stuff and transported them via trains and buses. Each public transport has a schedule which shows approximately what time the service will arrive. A single ticketing system also makes it reasonably priced if you are travelling quite a distance. However, do note that public transport isn't cheap but at least it is quite reliable. There are specific busways built for only buses so that they can maintain their schedule. This is something which Malaysia has a long way to go and till today has never been successful.
Lastly, most Malaysians whom I know who send their kids to the local schools over here seems to be happy with the education system. Yes, I believe Australia has a coherent and consistent education system although it is getting more and more commercialised at the higher institutions. At least you'll get a fair shot in education over here. Mind you, these are local government schools and not even private schools. Teachers are extremely qualified. Unlike Malaysia, you don't get educators who try to shove down your throat values of the national religion. Things are pretty open over here, with emphasis on Science, Mathematics and language. That's my humble opinion anyway.
So I guess all these makes it a compelling reason to migrate. No, I don't have a PR and I guess we haven't really thought about applying for it. One of the reason is because I feel we have passed our "PR age" and also because our families are back in Malaysia. Nevertheless, you can't blame anyone who wants to leave Malaysia for greener pastures elsewhere, can you?
If only I can find a proper job here in Brisbane ...
Since relocating to Brisbane for more than 6 months, I've found out there were three person whom I know who have recently decided to reside in Australia to qualify for their PR status. It seems all three went through some kind of agent (which is the hugely popular way of obtaining an Aussie PR in Malaysia) by paying tens of thousand MYR for the administration and application process. This is a relatively fast process if you are qualified (having said that, it seems almost anyone with a knowledge of English and a decent degree and work experience seem to quality quite easily). It is a big sacrifice for them to leave eveything back home in the hope of making it here in Australia.
Although I have only been in Brisbane for a short period of time so far, I could understand why many would want to migrate. Being a Malaysian, we are fortunate to be in a peaceful and stable country, so the reasons of war and hunger certainly doesn't hold any water here. The most attractive part of migrating would be the quality of life. Life does seem to be better here as with most developed countries, work life balance is the utmost importance. Flexibility in the workspace is a norm. At 3pm, you would see many people leaving their work and heading for home. There is also a choice of working part time which does allow families to continue to take care of their children. That is something difficult to achieve in Malaysia and hence the growing need of cheap slaves .. or rather cheap domestic foreign maids in Malaysia which I find worrisome.
The other thing which attracts me is the public facilities such as the parks and the numerous bicycle lanes. Australia is a country which you pay high taxes but know where your hard earned money is being spent. Parks are relatively safe with very strict enforment from the authorities. You certainly don't want to be caught screwing around here. The parks are filled with adults and kids especially during the weekends. The bicycle lanes are top quality. And mopeds are banned from bicycle lanes which makes it safer. I guess bicycle lanes will never make it in Malaysia since we have a huge number of mopeds and the infamous Mat Rempits.
Also, good public transportation. We haven't got a car here and probably will only plan to rent one when we actually needed it. I think we are doing pretty well without a car over here. We actually bought our stuff and transported them via trains and buses. Each public transport has a schedule which shows approximately what time the service will arrive. A single ticketing system also makes it reasonably priced if you are travelling quite a distance. However, do note that public transport isn't cheap but at least it is quite reliable. There are specific busways built for only buses so that they can maintain their schedule. This is something which Malaysia has a long way to go and till today has never been successful.
Lastly, most Malaysians whom I know who send their kids to the local schools over here seems to be happy with the education system. Yes, I believe Australia has a coherent and consistent education system although it is getting more and more commercialised at the higher institutions. At least you'll get a fair shot in education over here. Mind you, these are local government schools and not even private schools. Teachers are extremely qualified. Unlike Malaysia, you don't get educators who try to shove down your throat values of the national religion. Things are pretty open over here, with emphasis on Science, Mathematics and language. That's my humble opinion anyway.
So I guess all these makes it a compelling reason to migrate. No, I don't have a PR and I guess we haven't really thought about applying for it. One of the reason is because I feel we have passed our "PR age" and also because our families are back in Malaysia. Nevertheless, you can't blame anyone who wants to leave Malaysia for greener pastures elsewhere, can you?
If only I can find a proper job here in Brisbane ...
Labels: Greener Pastures?
posted by Pink Panther at 8:41 am
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