***Updates***
After so many years, I am back to the thread.

Quick updates: REP approved, received job offer with total package which is really comfortable to live in Msia but of course the role is demanding too. Also have to re-adjust life with traffic jam, weather, fast moving lifestyle etc.

Gonna move back first by myself for a few months before relocating my whole family back. Will stay in Malaysia a few years and enrolled my kids into private or international schools. We will see in a few years later where kids want to study, then will send them back to nz or aus for college or university as can pay domestic fees. That's if they want to study there, if not, study in Malaysia or elsewhere is good, just depends on what they want.


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Hi forumers,

It has been really a long time since I last posted in this forum. This has always been a good platform for us to share information, which I appreciated a lot.

Now, after working for many years regionally and living overseas, and have stayed in NZ for close to 10 years now, I am considering to move back to Malaysia with my family next year.

I have a few questions which I hope forumers can help to answer:-
1) How's the job market in KL? I am in the IT industry, with an engineering degree, with experiences from engineering, marketing, sales and business developments. Have had quite good experiences with a couple of MNCs and proven track records under my belt.
With Covid-19 now, I believe the market is quite fragile and lots of unemployment which is the same as everywhere in the world.

2) How are the school education? I have read and heard from many mates that most children nowadays are sent to private schools as public schools system are getting worse? I don't understand the part where public school is not good.
Appreciate answers from forumers whom have children in school~ :-)

3) How are the safety and crime rates in KL? How's the traffic situation?
10 years ago, it took me 1-1.5 hour just to drive from Cheras Leisure Mall to KLCC, and this is only about 10km drive.
Not sure if this changes much after so many years of road constructions, MRT/LRT built.
Safety wasn't great back then either, friends will tell me about their family/friends being daylight robbed by snatch thieves.
Lots of fraud cases, phone scams trying to cheat elderly's hard earned savings.

4) Anything else that you would like to share about Malaysia/KL that you deemed I should know about?

Understood many forumers would be asking why go back to Malaysia? There will be mixed opinions of overseas better, pay is higher, fair systems etc., and politics questions might popped up. There are just something that can't be replaced in life, called family.

Appreciate heaps for the support~

This post has been edited by HappyA_Q: Mar 31 2023, 04:22 AM

If family is important enough for you to contemplate moving back to Malaysia, then, IMHO, all your other concerns are moot.

This post has been edited by hksgmy: Sep 23 2020, 08:29 AM

Another option is move your family toNZ

If your concern are 1, 2 and 3 ... stay where your are now.

If your concern is family, ignore 1 2 and 3 and fly 'home'

No one can solve your concern ... is your life and how best you want for your family.

We all have to adapt to the 'environment' ... some have choices while others NONE .

This post has been edited by mini orchard: Sep 23 2020, 08:58 AM

1. Job Market in KL
Generally job market is shrinking but it's still not too bad for IT. During these MCOs I'm still getting head hunted a few times and according to them those companies are still expanding or doing digital transformation. Some industries are doing exceptionally well now like logistic and digital services, you can search for IT roles in them.

2. School Education
Can't share much about this as I only have a 2yo now. I also heard a lot saying public school quality is getting worse, kinda worry for my kid's education in future too.

3. Safety
I stay 20km away from KL. I still see a lot of people jogging and cycling in the early morning or late evening. But ya a lot of fraud/scam case lately but this is totally preventable.

There's a saying: 好马不吃回头草

You left Malaysia for a reason - better pay, better lifestyle, better weather, whatever. Don't end up missing those reasons when you/should you want to come back for "family" - and don't make "family" the excuse to regret your decision. That's all I'm saying.

Good luck whichever way you decide.

How is the racism over there? I read that racism is ramping up against Asians due to covid in the western world.

If you don't mind the devalued pay-cheques and increasing intolerance then anything else should not be a problem.

At the end of it, I find that most Malaysians still miss the life back home. Unless they're working nearby because that's like, an hour or so away from Malaysia basically it's much easier to visit home.

Much as everyone else asks you to stay where you are, I'll suggest you take the effort and time to fly home for a short stay to observe FIRST before making the drastic move. Check and consider whether this is really what you and your family wants. If yes, don't look back once you've decided.

1. Yes correct, jobs is scarce but IT, Engineering etc - shouldn't be a problem. Especially when you're someone with experience. Having been overseas, I see that you certainly have an advantage.

2. Can't comment much about public schools, as i'm not really updated BUT public vernacular schools are okay (as far as i hear from colleagues) and private schools are certainly popular for those who can afford. Most parents would want their children to study in a more conducive environment with better facilities. Thus Private Schools are much preferred by parents who has no issue in paying the fees.

3. Traffic during peak hours by car is BAD. I'd be lying if i say it's good if you can take LRT/MRT, by all means do so, public transport FTW.

Scams and frauds - still happening. If anything, frequency of scams are higher now than ever when people don't have a job and get better accessibility to digital data. So long you know better to ignore these calls, that should be fine.

4. Political instability is still there.
And be ready for possibility of unhelpful customer service/ personnel whenever you complain or walk-in to get some papers done.

Lastly, I respect people who worked away, and decided to return home to contribute, or choose to return for their family. At the end of it, we live only once, and we have limited time to spend with our loved ones. Yes it's about priorities. If money and "better quality of life" is the priority, stay where you are.

Malaysia will be a new challenge if you come back. Be ready to embrace what's coming should you choose this route.

This post has been edited by sweet_pez: Sep 23 2020, 11:04 AM

But increasing intolerance is also happening in the rest of the world, especially towards Asians ... no thanks to COVID-19

So I'm not too sure on the education system in NZ but as someone that moved after primary school to Aus, I would say the public education system in Malaysia is really bad. Had to do a lot of personal catch up after moving.

How old are your kids? Ive known a few people that moved back from Aus with kids and their kids ended up being really miserable as it's a real shock how different the schooling methods are. Not to mention the increased racism your kids would probably have to deal with. People like to harp on about how asians are treated worse in Aus / NZ but its a really different case if you were born / raised there.

I am forever grateful to my parents for deciding to move to Aus and staying on for their kids education. They have moved back to Malaysia now and are enjoying their life with family.

Wholeheartedly agree. I wasn't born in Australia, but because I embraced the culture & the accent wholeheartedly when I was there, I was neither discriminated nor ever made to feel out of place.

Agreed. But to move from somewhere familiar and comfortable to uncertainty needs a lot of soul-searching and courage.

KL =/= Malaysia, working in East Malaysia for few years now has given me a new perspective

Questions:
i) May I ask what do you mean by "fair systems"?
ii) Do you have family members in Malaysia?
iii) Are you still a Malaysian citizen?

NZ is a multi-cultural country with around 5m population.
My kids grown up here and they don't understand what does racist mean. School system doesn't discriminate them by race.
Everyone has their own role to play in a community regardless of their professions. Minimum pay here is $18.90, and you get that pay when you're working in KFC/McDonald's. I'm going a bit off topic here..

Talking about racism in professional workplace, I don't really think so as have seen quite a few migrants are on high-level management positions and some managed to be in CxO levels, and some are successful politicians.

Totally agree with this... embrace the culture, get involved in the community, you won't feel discriminated.

Fair systems:
1. Tax system based on your income, not by race.
2. Entry to tertiary education is by merit, not by quota.
3. Your tax paid are put into good use to community, i.e. road construction, park maintenance, healthcare. Children and elderly people are well taken care of in terms of healthcare, education, etc. More info can be found online.
4. Minimum pay is well defined and obeyed by law, any companies not following this are sued in court and this cant be settled via under table $.

Yes I do have extended family members in Msia. And my own family are Malaysian citizens.

Thank you sweet pez, appreciate your long reply.
Appreciate your effort taking the time and thoughts to reply them 1 by 1.

As long as you don't burn bridges and are able to relocate back to NZ in the future, then you don't have to worry too much.

If possible, maybe you can just take a longer leave or leave of absence and spend a few months in Malaysia by yourself first, to see how you feel, before making the big decision. Everyone has different feeling and opinions about the same things so it is hard to get a response in the same context as your actual situation.

Hey sunbearau,
My boys are 9 and 6 who have spent most of their lives in NZ, so basically would say they are kiwi.
Thanks for sharing the experiences about how other kids treated when moved back. That's my concerns as well.
The education system here compare to Msia are totally different, each has its own advantages. To move my family back to KL, my kids will be having culture shock with all the homework that they need to complete everyday. Racism in school probably won't happen for us, as both myself and wife are Malaysians, and the kids are chinese looking anyway.

Totally agree about what you mentioned earlier about asians treated worse in ANZ. If kids are raised here, they won't be treated worse as there are lots of human rights, mutual respect, and they stand up for themselves. It's hard time for us asian parents, as we can't enforce the way we are raised (at least how I was raised) whereby parents have a lot of authority. Kids here stand up for themselves, defend and talk for themselves, pretty much very outspoken about their feelings and what they want. You can't force them to do what they don't want to do, BUT you can encourage them to do things that are right.

Great to know that you have enjoyed staying in Aus and grew up there after primary school. Also glad to know your parents enjoying their life in Malaysia now. This is also one of the options that I'm looking at, which possibly only happen 15 years later, after my kids graduated and started working.

My expat neighbour (I’m based in Singapore) used to tell me, he wouldn’t have moved over from the UK if the package wasn’t double what he had been getting. Might be a financial baseline you could peg your decision to.

I live in AU and I think most discrimination tend to occur at the street / lower management levels especially in a non-international, domestic companies. It seems to me that discrimination is a very naive idea for people (Aussies) who are well-traveled, well-educated and have worked overseas (UK/US or even Singapore).

I myself am also struggling to find stronger reasons to return to Msia instead of purely for families because of pay-cut and lack of interesting job opportunities. COVID sorta changed the dynamics of my work as clients are more willing to have meetings virtually and I can deliver my services digitally as well (I am in advisory/consulting) so maybe I can still go back and yet retain my client base. Worst case scenario is I will relocate to SG instead as it is still near Msia where my families are and I have enough good contacts/opportunities to get some work there, but I still prefer Msia for sentimental reasons. I have a feeling I might regret it down the road but still I would like to give it a try at some point. Never try never know.

Having kids definitely complicate the matter due to educational considerations but I reckon if your kid is good he or she will be good anywhere in the world. The educational landscape across the globe is really having an evolution now and if a degree or cert means nothing more than a piece of marketing paper, then I reckon it doesn't matter and in fact having diversity of experience might help in the long run. Of course it is easier to comment than to practice because it is always better to be safe than to be sorry but somehow I think we need to acknowledge that the world is constantly changing.

This post has been edited by Justin Wong: Sep 24 2020, 09:26 AM

Seriously stay where you are, since you have a family there and a good job there.

You can follow our local newspaper news everyday and you can gauge it yourself.

If I'm you, I'll stay where you are with the families.

Have you asked your family members what are their opinions about you & your family moving back to Malaysia?

NZ is a good country, nothing wrong. Just missing home, and sometimes kind of boring when you get to sleep at 10pm.
And you won't be able to get teh tarik and roti canai anytime you want.

Mixed opinions.. extended family back in KL run their own businesses and always welcome us to go back to grow family businesses.
Own family here prefers NZ due to safety, weather, they have now treated NZ as home.

I guess if there are good package to relocate back to KL, and can afford kids to attend private/international school, it will be a good run.
But due to Covid, economy is not too good, should be blessed that we still have businesses and/or employed.

Ahhh... if in this case, just stay in NZ la.

Hi,

Below are my answers to your question.

1) Job market in IT industry during this period of time is still good and with your experiences, I think you could get a well-payed job in Malaysia. I would think it will be lower compared to your salary in NZ but it will be enough for you to live a life with your family comfortably in MY.

2) Public school can be a hit or miss. Some schools are just bad some schools are good. However most public schools are multi racial, if you do not want your children to get sidelined for example cant speak BM or mandarin then I would suggest you to send your children to a private school.

3) Safety and crime rate I would say just about the same la. Dont cross the road with your phone/wallet out. Dont answer any scam calls which I think as an IT guy you will be able to identify it instantly. News of robberies still happened time to time but with gated community/taman in KL on the rise you will feel much safer. Traffic by car is still bad or maybe worse sometimes but nowadays with the completion of MRT and new LRT stations, it is so much convenient if you can get a job near those public transport. Furthermore, a lot of companies(small/big) are also moving to places that are accessible by MRT & LRT. Nowadays I am travelling using MRT/LRT to meet clients too .

4) KL/Malaysia got a lot of good food hahahaha

I can feel you there mate. Not sure how long you have been away from home.
For me, after a while, tend to miss Malaysia. There are although some of the points that I don't like about Msia, but somehow because of family, all those stuffs can be erased/neglected.

Since you're in the consulting line, and basically you can virtually work from anywhere aye. That's awesome~

As somebody who has first hand experience with this, i'll share my experience..

My family moved to Aus when I was 2 years old, and we settled until I was 9. Schooling in Aus was.. mixed emotions.. Even though I had some aussie friends, there were always days when I would get bullied by my Caucasian school mates.. especially the older guys would come pick on me, to the point of tears. Such as when I played Aussie rules, the kids would pick on me and call me names. Probably because I was a good runner and had a good kick, so they would try to put me off my game or intentionally try to get me out of 'their' game. My older brother too, also had some friends who were real bullies. They would pick the living shit out of me.. I would always be absolutely scared whenever they came over to our house to hang out.. complete assholes. Funnily, I'm good friends with one of them today. I guess after people grow up, they really do realise how much of jerk they were when they were younger.

It was tough mentally and physically honestly.. being an Asian and growing up in a white mans country. Racism back in the 90s was absolutely brutal.. My dad especially had to put up with alot of the rejection.. Obviously, times have changed and the australian economy is more open to all races and people are expected to be well mannered and more sensitive these day. But behind closed doors, Asians, especially immigrants still do get picked on.. Why do you think they all congregate at the same suburbs?

From 9 years of age until I was 17, my dad decided he had enough and we moved back to Malaysia. As you can imagine, having never grown up in Malaysian culture before, I was basically treated like a msian with a funny accent. I went to a kebangsaan school too.. because my parents felt there was still time for me to learn Bahasa and yeah, it was difficult picking up this new language at 9 years of age.. imagine my first day of school where everyone spoke a different slang, tone, & did things differently than I did. WTF were my parents even thinking.. putting a 9 year old through that.. lol. God bless them.

Anyways, it was another round of bullying for talking with a funny accent.. But I eventually picked up on the Malaysian slang and made friends. Good life long friends too btw, some of whom would go overseas to Australia for further studies and what not.

If I could rate my experience growing up in both countries. Malaysia was extremely difficult for the first 6 months, and then things improved and I absolutely love Malaysia. Australia on the other hand, I felt racism in Australia through-out my entire time there. Even as an adult, racism still exists in Australia. Especially on the competitive end of things like I was once called a 'chink' by a white dude whilst playing paintball. And if you are walking around the CBD during night-time on the weekend, you are bound to encounter a dickhead..

Make what you will of it. But the kids will survive. It's more important as an adult to pick where you feel is better for your own happiness.

I'm glad my Dad came back to Malaysia, because he obviously had a better time in Asia than he did in Aus, and I too. But each and everyones experience will vary.

My suggestion for TS is try to look for an intermediary jump to Asia. You probably won't command the same income in Malaysia as you do now. BUT if you were to jump to Singapore or HK or even China, you may have a better chance to find a good paying job equivalent or even better than your current australian/nz package. That's what I did. I came to SG for work and stayed to become a SPR. Your kids will also have a better experience of assimilating in Asian culture if you jump to SG or HK. Because everything is in English, your kids will have an easier time with school and mixing with friends, who likely also came from Australia.

IF you do come back to Asia for work, save up the income and build your retirement nest. When you've saved up enough, you can move back to Malaysia and do something else whilst you are still young and able. But mind you, working in Asia is obviously tougher than Australia, you may spend less time with your kids, but at least you will climb the ladder much faster than you would in Aus.

This post has been edited by Liamness: Sep 24 2020, 10:18 PM

As a fellow advisory & consultant albeit, in the engineering line, I did exactly that and I'm now living in msia, meanwhile, my customer base is in ASEAN. Although I did move back to Asia when I was in my 20s and single, so that made the decision to pack up my life in Australia and move much easier. Besides, there are plenty of Aussies and expats living in Singapore. It's pretty much expat town still, even more so now with jobs being more globally focused.

With air travel, it is entirely possible to retain your customers whilst you live in a completely different time-zone. However, with Covid as it stands, air travel may be impossible without a vaccine.

An intermediary jump to Singapore makes alot of sense. And hey.. if you really want to fully maximize your income earning potential, live in JB and commute to SG for work.

From an educational stand-point, I wouldn't worry too much about studying in Malaysia. Having gone through both Australian & Malaysian educational systems, the kids will adapt without major problems. They'll be okay.

This post has been edited by Liamness: Sep 25 2020, 10:10 AM

Family is always important no matters how you look into it. So your other concern is just merely concern when you actually coming back.

Job wise, not sure, alot of unemployment currently but some still manage to change job because of this pandemic. So it does not concern if you are the right person for the job.

Education, Public school are good for normal ppl. But if you have the extra money to spend, why not??

Traffic is as usual... if you expect that after the new MRT/LRT been built, there will be less car, then it might disappointed you...

Anything else you should know? Since your family is in homeland, they will fill u up better than us do.

Dun worry something is not happen yet and just prepared for any changes.

Cheers TGIF

This is a very good experience sharing, thanks Liamness.

Update: My REP application has just expired this month.
Most likely going to live in NZ for a while, with kids going through their education and wife enjoying her work here.
Just have to keep working hard and saving here till kids started working. Then, I will have less burden. :-D

First question r u able to accept lower salary? If no then no need think further.

most likely your kids will remain in NZ or other first world country. Some of my relatives who born and stay in Aus and UK will never work or stay n Msia. They return only for short vacation and taking in some sun bath at beach.

This post has been edited by soules83: Sep 13 2021, 03:54 PM

Yeah, I would not set expectations on where they will work as they are still young, not sure what is their profession etc. All I can plan for future is my own retirement 15-20 years down the road.
Fingers crossed, have to have good financial planning.

After so many years, I am back to the thread.

Quick updates: REP approved, received job offer with total package which is really comfortable to live in Msia but of course the role is demanding too. Also have to re-adjust life with traffic jam, weather, fast moving lifestyle etc.

Gonna move back first by myself for a few months before relocating my whole family back. Will stay in Malaysia a few years and enrolled my kids into private or international schools. We will see in a few years later where kids want to study, then will send them back to nz for college or university as can pay domestic fees. That's if they want to study there, if not, study in Malaysia or elsewhere is good, just depends on what they want.

This post has been edited by HappyA_Q: Mar 21 2023, 10:39 AM

u know the moon is always much bigger overseas.... and the rice from your neighbor's house always taste better.

For us staying here for our whole life.... i think Malaysia is ok, racist is always around becoz of politician who benefits from it.
Job market, IT i am not sure but so far everyone is surviving.
As for Traffic.... depends where u work, if u Cheras to KLCC u can use public transport such as MRT now. As for me, i give up on traffic and move to a place near my office, benefits of not working in KL town.
Education.... i think this one as a parents need to guide your kid on what passion and what they want. If u leave it to our education system they most likely until they university graduate they also dont know what they want to do.

Friend,

The only avenue for your kids to study is in international school IGSCE. I think your 9 yo kid may struggle at our public school systems.

I think they may get some culture shock, our public schools tend to be a bit less on empowerment and more on following orders.

Also be a bit concern about bullying, as local kids may target your kids because they may view them as different. Maybe not so much in SRJK or International private schools.

Also the long term prospects of public school system seems to be quite dim. If PeeeN takesover they are going to introduce a range of rollover eyes type of education, which would set your kids back 10 years. And the never ending rants from these politicians over vernacular and private schools that they accuse of causing unity issues, which in fact even if non kids graduate from SMK, the entry into desired local public university degrees is only 10%.

But seriously, unless you are facing problem with employment in NZ, which is most migrants no.1 issue, I think you considering to come back to Msia, is an indication of extreme desperation.

This post has been edited by mezanny: Mar 22 2023, 12:41 PM

Thanks for your reply. Yes we are sending the kids to international schools, those which are closest to NZ education would be AISM or IGCSE syllabus private schools with more westernised teaching.
They can't adapt to public schools for sure.
For university wise, if my boys are good and keen in further studies, they can choose to do that in Aus or NZ as they can pay domestic tuition fees and can apply for study loan themselves.

NZ is pretty good in work-life balance, you actually get to spend a lot of time with your family and have hybrid work culture (2 days office 3 days home) depending on company. Customers and colleagues are respectful to each other, very kind to each other. The reason of considering coming back mainly is for family and also let my boys have exposure to their extended family.

Also I guess you have missed out my updates reply about the REP approved and received job offer with pretty good package.

any job openings at your company. i have folks want to go to nz to work.

Not easy to get a job in NZ while in overseas. Company prefers to hire local candidates with residency visa.

too bad. noted with thanks