Many have asked me why I came back to Malaysia after being the U.S. for 6 years.

There are a variety of factors or reasons, which I will try to list below:

Intellectual - Ideologically, I refuse to believe that "the good life" is to be found only in developed countries, or that material well-being necessarily leads to a better life. I still hold this to be true, and have acted accordingly, tho' after being there and finally understanding what the "higher standard of living" means, I can say that what is valuable over there is not so much the more comfortable life that one can have if you are well-off enough, but the opportunities that are afforded from living in such a society.

To be on the cutting edge of whatever your field is, to be able to move forward, to develop, and to also be in a society that values the whole person, with life being accepted as multi-faceted rather than just work or the narrow minded pursuit of wealth. That is valuable. So there is something that you have to "give up" from choosing not to be there. In the end, though, it is my little stand against the self-centred pursuit of material wealth that is so prevalent in the world today.

Challenge - Furthermore, on the other hand, there is another realm, another chance to be on the forefront, that is present only in the developing countries, not in the developed, and that is the chance to make a significant difference in your field - to lay down the structures and shape the society.

Plan - I think I am headed for an underdeveloped country (not Malaysia), hopefully soon, and for some substantial amount of time. The specifics are as yet undecided, but it seems to me that so much of the world needs so much in terms of resources, that I should use whatever I have over there instead of where there are more resources available. Better distribution/use of human capital and all that.

Timing - I figure I should spend some time with my family after being away for so long, since my parents do seem happy for me to be around, and I am also sorry for having been away for most of my younger sibling's growing years, and would like to be around for her for awhile at least.

Transition - If I'm going to go live in an underdeveloped country, it would probably be best to start moving down the scale as soon as possible. The longer I stayed in the U.S., the harder it would have been to adapt to other situations. Malaysia is like a stepping stone in between. I also wanted to re-learn how to live with other people (after only having to take care of myself and my own interests for so long - makes you rather self-centred), and how to live in a different type of society and understand different mindsets, after being steeped in the rhetoric of American civil society and the liberal arts tradition for the past few years. Americans tend to think that the rest of the world thinks the same way they do, or should.

Spiritual - I just don't feel that my life's purpose is to be sitting pretty (albeit doing good work, I would hope), in one of the developed countries.

Quasi-patriotic - And if I am to be going to some underdeveloped country to help out, I want to be sent from Malaysia rather than from the U.S.. This country (Malaysia) is well enough along to be sending workers to other places. We no longer need to be just receivers. We need to be givers. We are still needy in many ways, but we are at a point when we can begin to make an impact beyond our homeground, and we should be trying to. I would like to go as a Malaysian and show that Malaysia can make a difference in the world.

Emotional - Tho' I loved my apartment and my university and life as a graduate student in small-town USA, I was rather getting tired of eating dinner alone, and the independent, individual existence. I could see myself, 5 years from now, as a successful, fulfilled executive coming home to a comfortable apartment, and making myself dinner and turning on the tv, and somehow it was an intellectually attractive but not very heartwarming picture.

The first and last are push factors, and all the ones in between are pull factors.

I wonder how others feel. I do know that a number of my own friends have returned, though probably many more don't. Some are pressured by family, but I am sure others do it on their own free will as well. The Star has a Malaysians Abroad column. It would be interesting to read about Malaysians Who Returned as well. Though then again, many come back and then return abroad again, which happened in that government scheme to try to bring back specialists etc. Hah - that would be even more interesting to read about, wouldn't it? :)

This is really cool!

My Home Library by Children's Laureate Anne Fine has marvellous illustrated book plates that say "This book belongs to the home library of..."

They are lovely and FREE for download!

They have appealed for designs for libraries who want to put "donated by" plates, so need to check back in awhile and see if any of those have been put up!

http://www.myhomelibrary.org/home.html

Zounds! Librarian blogs galore... a listing from the Open Directory:

http://dmoz.org/Reference/Libraries/Library_and_Information_Science/Weblogs/