Nga Kor Ming (PH-Teluk Intan) said a recent report from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development showed that US$137 billion was invested in Asean countries despite the pandemic in 2020.

“But investment in Malaysia has dropped. Previously, we were behind Singapore, but now, we have lost to Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines,” he said.

He said only 2.5% of the total investment, or US$3.5 billion, was invested in Malaysia, and measures needed to be taken to stop the downward trend.

Nga also said the government should review its policies favouring one race over another to further prevent a brain drain.

He said data from the World Bank showed that 1.2 million Malaysians, including 350,000 professionals, had left the country.

“We spend millions of ringgit educating them but, in the end, they leave.

“If they were to return to Malaysia, the country will not only be the little tiger of Asean but the dragon of Asia,” he said.

He said there were 12 “unicorns” in Asean countries, with six in Singapore, four in Indonesia, one in the Philippines and one in Vietnam, with each valued more than US$1 billion.

“One of the six ‘unicorns’ in Singapore is superapp Grab. We had a ‘unicorn’ but we failed to retain it in Malaysia,” he said.

Grab will go public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York. It is valued at US$40 billion.

“Imagine the revenue earned from taxes if Grab was in Malaysia,” he said.