ABOUT a month ago, I wrote a piece on how I feel that the world needs to have free and open borders as migration should the fundamental of human right.
Read: The world needs free and open borders.
In a nutshell, I argued that allowing human migration brings more advantages to the global society, as a whole than disadvantages. And research has shown that this is true.
Human migration actually improves the economic situation of the countries that people leave (money flows in) and also the countries that they arrive in (contributing in spending and taxes).
The potential of human skills and talent for the host country, in essence the brain gain (as opposed to brain drain) is also something that is highly possible.
The recent profile story that is making its rounds on social media (at least on my timelines) is about Thuan Pham, a Vietnamese refugee who left on a refugee boat to the United States of America to escape the war in 1979.
He made good in his new host country and is currently the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of the world famous car driver app Uber which is headquartered in San Francisco.
The story tells his journey as a boat person with his family in search for a country that would give them refuge. They arrived on Malaysian shores but were rejected and pushed out to sea.
Pham and his family were rejected from several other countries including Singapore and Indonesia before finally being allowed to resettle in the USA.
Imagine if Malaysia had allowed Pham to settle in Malaysia as refugees, we would have had a genius that could contribute so much to the country (but probably be hated by local taxi drivers!).
I wonder if the Malaysian government regretted the decision to reject Pham and family -- just as how they expressed regret over rejecting Fijian golfer Vijay Singh when he applied for Permanent Residency (PR) status back in the 1980s.
There have been many other immigrants who became huge contributors, model citizens and the pride and joy for their host countries after having immigrated.
Madeline Albright, the USA’s former Secretary of State, landed on Uncle Sam's land with her family as refugees from the the then-communist country of Czechoslovakia in 1948.
Then there was Albert Einstein - who sought refuge in the USA as well after German's Adolf Hitler and the Nazis came into power in the 1930s.
Even Malaysians have made it big when they immigrated.
Remember Tsai Ming-Liang, the Sarawakian filmmaker is more widely known internationally as a Taiwanese director than Malaysian? In case you don't, the 58-year-old filmmaker is an internationally-acclaimed director with numerous awards under his belt.
Maha Sinnathamby, the wealthy property developer who grew up in Negeri Sembilan and immigrated to Australia in the 1970s is now worth a whopping US$650 million!
The late Steve Jobs (yes, THE Steve Jobs!), although was not a refugee or immigrant himself, was a son of a Syrian immigrant who moved to the USA. Now, how about that?
So, I’m still going to harp on that open and free human migration is a basic human right.
Governments need to see that it brings more of the greater good to the world.
Zan Azlee
Thu Mar 24 2016
So many immigrants and refugees have proved to be assets to their host countries. So Astro AWANI's Zan Azlee is pushing for open migration in the world.
Polis cari saksi kemalangan maut di Bagan Lalang
Polis sedang mengesan individu atau saksi yang mempunyai maklumat berhubung kemalangan maut membabitkan dua buah kenderaan yang berlaku di persimpangan lampu isyarat Bagan Lalang, pada Rabu.
Lelaki dipenjara dua tahun, cederakan adik kandung guna pisau pemotong daging
Seorang lelaki dihukum penjara dua tahun oleh Mahkamah Sesyen Selayang kerana mencederakan adiknya menggunakan sebilah pisau pemotong daging.
Perang Iran-Israel: Malaysia pantau kesan terhadap ekonomi - Tengku Zafrul
Kementerian Pelaburan, Perdagangan dan Industri memantau rapat perkembangan ketegangan geopolitik di Asia Barat termasuk membabitkan Iran dan Israel susulan letupan di Isfahan hari ini.
"OIC dah tak bermakna, tak berguna dalam meredakan ketegangan"
Pandangan dikongsi Prof Dr Salawati Mat Basir, Pakar undang-undang antarabangsa, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).
Perjuangan PBB banyak disekat oleh AS dan EU
Sementara itu, Prof. Madya Dr. Mohd Yazid Zul Kepli berkata tidak wajar menyalahkan Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu (PBB) yang telah konsisten mengutuk tindakan israel dan berusaha gigih dalam membawa penyelesaian damai dalam isu ini.
Tindakan Israel mencetuskan ketegangan lebih buruk di Asia Barat
Pakar Undang-undang Antabangsa, Kulliyyah Undang-undang Ahmad Ibrahim (AIKOL), Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia (UIAM), kesediaan Iran untuk bertindak balas dengan segera dan tegas menunjukkan bahawa mereka tidak akan berdiam diri dalam menghadapi sebarang ancaman terhadap kedaulatan dan keselamatan negara mereka.
Perang Iran-Israel: Kerajaan mesyuarat petang ini, termasuk bawa pulang rakyat Malaysia
Kerajaan akan mengadakan mesyuarat khas petang ini bagi membincangkan situasi semasa di Iran termasuk kemungkinan membawa pulang rakyat Malaysia di negara itu susulan serangan rejim Israel.
Usaha tingkatkan kadar gaji penjawat awam diumum Hari Pekerja - PM Anwar
Cadangan penambahbaikan, usaha tingkatkan kadar pendapatan bersih penjawat awam akan diumumkan pada Hari Pekerja, kata Perdana Menteri
Mangsa serangan buaya boleh minta bantuan tabung JKM - Nancy
Mangsa serangan buaya atau binatang buas boleh memohon bantuan daripada Jabatan Kebajikan Masyarakat (JKM) menerusi Tabung Bantuan Mangsa Serangan Binatang Buas.
PM bincang dengan Kementerian Luar perkembangan semasa di Iran petang ini
Kerajaan akan mengadakan mesyuarat khas petang ini bagi membincangkan situasi semasa di Iran termasuk kemungkinan membawa pulang rakyat Malaysia di negara itu susulan serangan rejim Israel.
Kes Nik Raina dan Jawi diteruskan ke Mahkamah Persekutuan
Pada Disember tahun lalu, Mahkamah Rayuan mendapati bahawa Jawi telah bertindak di luar bidang kuasanya apabila mendakwa Nik Raina.
Jawi, pergi buat kerja lain selain kacau Nik Raina - Syahredzan
Jawi diminta menumpukan kepada perkara lain selain meneruskan tindakan terhadap Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz yang didakwa atas kesalahan menyebar dan mengedar buku kontroversi karya Irshad Manji.
Jawi perlu tahu beza kuasa pengurus dan Lembaga Pengarah Borders - Ibdil
Pergerakan Pemuda UMNO menggesa Jawi membezakan tahap jawatan serta kuasa yang ada pada pengurus kedai buku, Nik Raina Abdul Aziz dengan Lembaga Pengarah Borders sendiri.
Nik Raina dilepas tanpa dibebaskan dalam kes sebar buku Irshad Manji
Mahkamah melepaskan tanpa membebaskan pengurus kedai Berjaya Books, Nik Raina Nik Abdul Aziz yang didakwa atas kesalahan menyebar dan mengedar buku kontroversi karya Irshad Manji.
Tak boleh tidur? Baca lah buku terbaru saya - Tun M
Bekas Perdana Menteri, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad melancarkan buku terbarunya, 'The Wit & Wisdom of Dr Mahathir Mohamad' yang diterbitkan oleh Editions Didier Millet (EDM).