KUALA LUMPUR - Migrant Times will launch MT Forum on Sept. 10 with a hybrid discussion on competition for skilled talent across Asia.
The inaugural session, The Geopolitics of Talent, will run from 3 p.m. to 5:45 p.m. at the IEGCampus Auditorium, Level 14, in Kuala Lumpur and will also be livestreamed. Attendance is complimentary, with limited capacity and registration required through the MT Forum event page.
The event will also open Cross-Border Dialogues, MT Forum’s first dialogue series, bringing together perspectives from government, business, academia and civil society on issues involving mobility, work and economies.
The first session will examine competition for globally mobile talent, what influences people to stay, relocate or return, and how Asian economies can respond to skills shortages and changing workforce needs.
Malaysia’s 2024/25 MyMahir Malaysia Critical Occupations List identifies 66 critical occupations across 18 economic sectors. TalentCorp uses the list to identify occupations where demand exceeds the available supply of talent and to inform workforce and human-capital planning.
Indonesia faces a different challenge at the transition between education and employment. Statistics Indonesia says more than one-third of employed young people work at a level that does not correspond to their education. The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 estimates that 36% of workers’ core skills in Indonesia will change by 2030.
Those pressures sit alongside wider efforts to reshape talent mobility. Malaysia has pursued measures to encourage skilled Malaysians abroad to return, while Indonesia has involved universities in preparing skilled workers for overseas employment.
The announced panel includes Prof. Dr. Phar Kim Beng, director of IIUM’s Institute of International and ASEAN Studies; Dr. Paul Anthony Maria Das, a senior lecturer and programme coordinator at Taylor’s University; Ferdinand Prasetyo, Chief Executive of PT IDstar Cipta Teknologi; and Intan Shahira Mohd Shahru, former Chief People Officer at AirAsia. Migrant Times Founder and Editorial Director Afrina Arfa will moderate.
“Talent has become a strategic economic asset,” Das told Migrant Times. “In an increasingly competitive ASEAN and global economy, universities can no longer focus only on producing graduates; they must develop, attract and retain talent with the skills needed for a rapidly changing labour market.”
“The question isn’t just who wins the competition for talent—it’s who understands that sustainable competitiveness is built through authentic people strategies and transformational leadership,” Shahru said.
