Brain Drain Issue of Indonesia to Singapore: Do Digital Media and

Internet Play a Role in Stimulating It?

Sheila Silvia Permatasari

, Nabilla Fitri Assy Farhah

and Yanuar Rahmadan

Digital Business Program, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia

International Relation Program, Universitas 17 Agustus 1945 Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia

Keywords: Brain Drain, Digital Media, Internet.

Abstract:

Brain drain or human capital flight is the phenomenon of intellectuals, scientists, intellectuals, or researchers

leaving their own countries to more developed countries. The reasons behind it can vary. Considerations

like hiked salaries, superior technology, better standards of living, and quality of work life, more

unwavering political conditions & demand of skilled professional are attributed as reasons for brain drain

from developing to developed countries. In contemporary technologically advanced era, digital media and

internet has affected our political, social, cultural values. It would be oblivious if we neglected the role of

digital media & internet in connecting cross border communities. This connection has brought changes in

primordial intensions and the value system of people in developing countries to stay or move out of their

country of origin to a developed country. There is a dearth of study related to paradigm shift in cross border

mobility patterns mediated by digital media and internet. Here, it is an attempt to understand how the

internet and digital media influences the intensions and priorities to move out from one's own country to

foreign location. Specifically, it will review the brain drain phenomenon that occurs in Indonesia to

Singapore recently in 2023.

INTRODUCTION

It is no longer surprising that many educated people

choose to leave their hometowns to get a more

decent life. When they have higher skills and

knowledge than most people, finding work

according to their skills is their goal in moving to

another country. This happens because the country

does not have the adequate facilities, they need to

hone their skills. Apart from that, they want to

experience life in a country that has a high level of

prosperity with convenience in various things, such

as food, entertainment, economy, culture, fashion,

facilities, and infrastructure.

This phenomenon can be known as brain drain,

which is a situation when a country loses its best

human resources. This term is usually used for the

migration of intellectuals, scientists, and

intellectuals. In simple terms, this condition is

described when many people have skills or

intelligence, but they are not used to develop their

nation or advance their country.

Brain drain is felt by developing countries like

Indonesia. Even though it didn't happen on a

massive scale, in the 1960s, many Indonesian

students did not return to their homeland. For

example, during the political change in 1965 from

the Old Order to the New Order, many Indonesian

students were studying at universities in Russia or

universities in eastern European countries and chose

not to return to their homeland.

Likewise in the 1980s, when Minister of

Research and Technology BJ Habibie sent hundreds

of potential teenagers to study abroad. Many

overseas graduates do not immediately return home

and serve in the country. Many of them choose to

work in various companies in the US. Likewise, the

Strategic Industry Management Agency (BPIS) sent

thousands of young workers to be educated in

various scientific disciplines. They were sent to

become aircraft experts, telecommunications

experts, oceanographers, satellite experts, etc.

However, with the restructuring of the BPIS policy,

many of these professionals are unemployed. Then

they brain drain to various companies abroad.

The brain drain phenomenon has now evolved.

Not only as the Indonesian diaspora (Indonesian

people overseas) who have the status of high-class

Permatasari, S., Farhah, N. and Rahmadan, Y.

Brain Drain Issue of Indonesia to Singapore: Do Digital Media and Internet Play a Role in Stimulating It?.

DOI: 10.5220/0012581500003821

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 4th International Seminar and Call for Paper (ISCP UTA ’45 JAKARTA 2023), pages 319-324

ISBN: 978-989-758-691-0; ISSN: 2828-853X

319

scientists and researchers. But there are also diaspora

groups who choose to have careers and work in

various job sectors in companies abroad.

Thus, the matter of returning to Indonesia is not

just a consideration of the availability of companies

that offer high salaries. But it also correlates with the

values of a better and more dignified life in the

country. Including a governance system that upholds

clean governance with a clean and non-corrupt

bureaucratic system.

So, the most prominent impact of this brain drain

is that there is a brain vacuum where educated

human capital has left the country, causing the

vacuum of quality human resources in poor

countries to increase. This happened to Indonesian

Citizens (WNI) who changed citizenship to

Singapore. The decision of Indonesian citizens to

move to Singapore was caused by a pull factor. They

are easier to facilitate and more appreciated.

Moreover, the awards and salaries given are high.

Not only that, but facilities, such as houses, cars are

provided. They were also given important positions.

Another encouraging factor can also be obtained

from future guarantees obtained from Indonesian

citizens.

Figure 1: Number of Indonesian Citizens who become

Singaporean Citizens (2019-2023).

As shown in Figure 2 (Muhamad, 2023), the

movement of Indonesian citizens to Singapore

continues to increase every year. 2022 was recorded

as the highest year with 1,091 Indonesian citizens

moving to Singapore. As of April 2023, it was

recorded that 329 Indonesian citizens had changed

citizenship. It is possible that this number will

continue to increase until the end of 2023. This is a

reality that many Indonesian citizens are interested in

moving to become foreigners from certain countries.

This is just data on Indonesian citizens who are

Singaporean citizens, not from various countries.

On the other hand, as time goes by, digital media

continues to develop and there are always new and

innovative ways to use it. Digital media has changed

the way we communicate and consume information.

This allows everyone to connect and share thoughts

and ideas instantly. Basically, digital media is any

form of media that relies on electronic devices for

creation, distribution, display, and storage. One

example of digital media is social media which

allows users to interact with each other through

posting text, photos, and videos, commenting and

leaving likes to create conversations about pop

culture, sports, news, politics, and everyday events

in life. user.

Discussions about the Indonesia 4.0 era are

currently hot. This discourse emerged in response to

the increasingly significant development of digital

technology at the global level. The government

doesn't seem to want to be left behind by this.

The development of digital technology itself

affects every line of human life. The impact is quite

extreme on human behavior and lifestyle. How

could it not be, everything that was initially difficult

suddenly became easy.

Figure 2: Internet Users in Indonesia (1998-2023).

This is supported by data on the number of

internet users in Indonesia. Based on survey results

from the Indonesian Internet Service Providers

Association (Indonesia, 2023), internet users in

Indonesia reached 215.63 million people in the

2022-2023 period. This number increased by 2.67%

compared to the previous period which was 210.03

million users. The number of internet users is

equivalent to 78.19% of Indonesia's total population

of 275.77 million people. The percentage is 1.17%

points higher than in 2021-2022 which was 77.02%.

Based on gender, the internet penetration rate for

men in Indonesia is 79.32%. This figure is higher

than internet penetration for women which is

77.36%. Meanwhile, the internet penetration rate in

urban areas will be 77.36% in 2022-2023. The

percentage is also better than in rural areas which is

79.79%.

Based on this phenomenon, this article will

discuss the brain drain that occurs from Indonesia to

Singapore and how digital media and the internet

can stimulate it.

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LITERATUR REVIEW

Previous research (Asmuni, 2020) in the title

Minimizing brain drain: how BumDes holds the best

resources in the villages examined the extent to

which the Village-Owned Enterprise (BumDes)

BumDesor can minimize local brain drain in the

village. By using qualitative methods and in-depth

interviews in three villages in East Java, in Malang

Regency, Banyuwangi Regency, Gresik Regency,

this research found that BumDes was able to

overcome brain drain to a certain extent. The paper

shows that there are three patterns of how brain

drain can be minimized through BumDes.

Empowering women in the BumDes business unit,

empowering village youth to manage the

digitalization of the BumDes business unit, and local

undergraduate educational institutions in universities

to run BumDes. In short, BumDes can retain its best

human resources to develop villages. BumDes'

success in building its core business can be seen

from how its business units operate. BumDes

business is not like business in general. The BumDes

business begins with the village's potential which is

realized through the business units it owns. This

research shows that the success of BumDes is more

due to the ability of its members to explore the

potential of the village so that BumDes runs and

grows healthily. In this way, there is an economic

turnaround in the village. BumDes requires the best

human resources to manage, develop and maintain

its sustainability. In order to reduce brain drain,

healthy, open, and modern BumDes have utilized the

best village resources to participate in managing the

business. The best human resources prefer to stay in

the village because there are unlimited job

opportunities and economic opportunities. Villagers

in urban areas even returned to their original homes

and built businesses through BumDes. In short,

BumDes can be a factor that reduces the brain drain

phenomenon. However, the success of reducing

brain drain rates through BumDes may not represent

all BumDes in Indonesia. The study of these three

BumDes provides lessons in overcoming brain drain

at the micro level. The success of BumDes in

running business units based on village potential and

empowering rural communities can attract the best

village human resources to develop villages. Thus,

the paper shows that discussions about brain drain

should provide space for micro or village-based

organizations such as BumDes as important actors in

reducing the amount of brain drain.

The second research entitled Brain drain from

Europe to China in a digital economy era? (Ma &

Zhao, 2022), the research explains that over the past

few decades, China has exerted significant influence

on European labor markets through commodity

trade, through the channels discussed. Although a

large body of research finds that exposure to

international trade has a negative impact on

employment opportunities for low-skilled workers in

the manufacturing sector in developed countries, the

impact can vary greatly depending on whether the

interest group is low-skilled or not. Apart from

international trade, globalization also directly affects

local labor markets through international migration.

As China develops, demand and competition for

high-skilled workers will inevitably affect the

European labor market, especially for the high-

skilled segment. Along with advances in technology

and digital transformation, the labor market itself is

also experiencing changes. Online job search and

matching is becoming increasingly important:

organizing workers so that the production process is

no longer limited by physical space or limited by

borders. The model, which allows workers to supply

their labor remotely, suggests that demand for and

competition for high-skilled workers from China

resulted in industrial upgrading and economic

development increasing the tightness of the high-

skilled labor market, but not the tightness of the low-

skilled labor market in China. Europe. The

implication of our findings is that in the era of the

digital economy, international labor mobility has

become less necessary because workers can provide

their services remotely. These changes could create a

favorable situation for both the EU and China. On

the one hand, China benefits from high-skilled

workers in the European Union; On the other hand,

European labor markets were not negatively

impacted by shocks to the demand curve for high-

skilled workers. This result is in sharp contrast to the

traditional model in which European workers were

able to work in China through international

migration.

The third research entitled Does the Brain Drain

Effect Really Exist? A Meta-Analysis (Böttger,

Poschik, & Zierer, 2023). It used an accepted meta-

analytic approach to verify these findings. Here the

overall significant negative impact of smartphone

uses, and presence is demonstrated. A database

search identified 22 studies with a total of 43

relevant effects that could be put into the categories

“memory,” “attention,” and “general cognitive

performance.” Subgroup analysis showed that not all

cognitive domains were equally negatively impacted

by smartphones. The heterogeneity of impacts

strengthens these fossils. The test subject's

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321

nationality or research origin was identified as a

further key variable. The findings also suggest that

the distraction effects of smartphones vary across

study areas and further research is needed. Given the

results of current research, it seems important for

society in general, and especially children and teens

in schools and classrooms, to learn how to deal with

potential distractions from smartphones.

The fourth research entitled Migration

Vulnerability: The Role of Digital Media and the

Internet in Stimulating and Inhibiting Brain Drain

(Bhardwaj, 2017) is a contribution to theory and

literature related to the intensity of brain drain in the

era of digitalization. Online browsing and digital

media influence learning and image formation about

a place and can stimulate or inhibit migration

decisions. Overall, this research identifies two

dimensions. The first dimension relates to the role of

the internet and digital media in stimulating

migration decision making. The Internet and digital

media increase geographic coverage by expanding

regional migration possibilities and the number of

destinations. Through accessibility to this medium,

even vague dreams about distant and unfamiliar

places can be quickly validated. Information

distributed over virtual networks makes migration

decisions easier. The increasing prospect of

predicting the future consequences of a particular

move has increased the openness to thinking about

migration to previously unfamiliar places. The

internet and digital media play an important role in

stimulating dreams and thoughts, leading to concrete

migration plans. Faster access to information

facilitates faster decision-making processes.

Distributed virtual access to related information

makes it easier to make migration decisions,

specifically the time between the intention to

migrate and the final decision to make the move.

The second dimension of this article is the

hampering role of digital media and the internet

when used as an open and unfiltered communication

platform. Such information, if unreliable or biased,

may transmit or misrepresent a perception of a

community or country. Several ethical issues

regarding digital media and the internet that

influence migration decisions such as xenophobic

viewpoints and stereotypes effectively distance

humanity from migrants and damage the image of

the destination country or community.

The fifth research is entitled Mitigating brain

drain (Hijden & Wende, 2020) by connecting

universities discusses three communication policies

that are directly relevant to universities: one

regarding the European Education Area, one

regarding the European Research Area, and one

regarding the Digital Education Action Plan. The

policy report, towards a 2030 Vision on the Future

of Universities in Europe, will be released soon.

Earlier this summer, the commission published an

equally interesting communication regarding the

new European Skills Agenda. Excellence,

sovereignty, and inclusion feature prominently in

these texts. So, how can mobility fit onto this agenda

in a post-pandemic world? The COVID-19 recovery

creates an opportunity to align the EU's green,

digital and knowledge agenda. For universities to

become leaner, cleaner and provide better jobs, and

for their staff to find a better work-life balance, we

need to rethink mobility. Student and staff mobility

is widely considered to have a positive impact on the

lives and careers of the individuals concerned. This

is part of the EU's general aim to promote the free

movement of goods, people, services, and capital.

Free movement is expected to allocate talent to

places that are most productive and beneficial to

everyone. In this way, universities and research

institutions will obtain the human resources they

need to develop. EU programs such as Erasmus+

and Horizon Europe encourage mobility. Millions of

movements are proudly presented as European

success stories. We are educating generations of

students not only as “European citizens” but also as

greedy, polluting air travelers. Universities are proud

to contribute their research to addressing global

challenges, such as climate change, but few

universities limit the amount of academic travel

(tourism) undertaken by their staff. The EU has

launched a Green Deal, but ERASMUS and H2020

are still far from environmentally friendly. Mobility

can also cause brain drain. Objections to 'brain drain'

were met with the use of the more subtle notion of

'brain circulation'. But most of the movement

occurred from south to north and from east to west,

strengthening successful areas and covering less

successful areas. From an efficiency standpoint, this

might not be so bad. The concentration of talent in a

few centers greatly stimulates exchange and

innovation in these places. The flow of investment

capital and optimal use of expensive infrastructure

can be guaranteed. Well-known examples are

Silicon Valley and the Boston area. In Europe,

clustering and concentration are also definite trends,

both within the country and across the continent.

National excellence initiatives are driving this trend.

Their European counterparts, such as the European

Institute for Technology (EIT) and more recently the

European Universities Initiative, are moving in the

opposite direction, with some clustering but no

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concentration. Harmonization of national and

European instruments would be welcomed. From a

political and societal perspective, clustering and

concentration carry certain risks. Less developed

regions will lose talented human resources and

become less attractive for investment in knowledge-

intensive sectors. Proximity services will become

scarce. Public resentment will grow, and populist

movements will become stronger, threatening the

EU's social and political cohesion. Italy is a strong

example, with low support for the EU and much to

lose if it continues to drain its brains as populist

parties warm up for the next election. Societal

cohesion and economic development would

theoretically be better supported by extensive higher

education and research facilities across countries and

regions, but this, in turn, may not foster world-class

excellence.

METHODS

This research is descriptive research with a literature

study approach, where researchers collect data and

information from various library sources such as

books, journals, articles, magazines, online news

portals and others. Various literature sources

collected by researchers were sorted and selected

and then studied one by one. The data analysis

technique used uses content analysis techniques. The

stages used by researchers in carrying it out are

determining the research topic, determining the

problem formulation, developing a thinking

framework, developing methodological instruments,

analyzing data, drawing conclusions (Bungin &

Burhan, 2017).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Internet usage and smartphone penetration

worldwide is progressive and intensive. The fact that

internet usage and smartphone penetration

worldwide continue to increase shows its

applicability to every aspect of our lives. There are

approximately seven billion people (95% of the

global population) living in areas covered by mobile

networks. Mobile broadband networks (3G or

higher) already cover 84 percent of the global

population. LTE networks have reached nearly 4

billion people (53% of the global population),

thereby improving the quality of internet use

(Bhardwaj, 2017). As technology changes and

advances, migration patterns also change. Figure 1

highlights the number of internet users in Indonesia.

This clearly shows that internet penetration has

increased over time and has become an inseparable

part of everyone's life. In such a dynamic scenario,

special attention is needed to change in system

values and individual behavior due to the digital era.

To sum up as identified in the above literature,

the major roles of internet and digital media in

stimulating brain drain intensions are:

a. Increases in the size of the migrant's network

of migrants and prospective migrants.

b. Strengthening the existing social ties.

c. The internet reinforces the pull factors such

as information about job opportunities,

housing, education, lifestyle, and leisure

activities.

d. Moderates the upshot of “intervening

obstacles” or hurdles.

e. Information about maps, travel routes and

connecting migrants to the destination.

f. Precisely predict the increase or decrease of

migration flows and insight into how

migrants choose target countries.

g. Lowering of the risks and costs of migration

h. Facilitates adjustments.

CONCLUSION

This research analyzed by conducting a literature

review of various literature sources. Based on the

issues discussed in the present article future studies

can be conducted to empirically assess how media is

playing a role in triggering brain drain. There are

also several differences from the previous research

as can be seen below:

Brain Drain Issue of Indonesia to Singapore: Do Digital Media and Internet Play a Role in Stimulating It?

323

Table 1: Differences with previous research.

Previous Research The Difference

(Asmuni, 2020) in the

title "Minimizing brain

drain" discusses the role

of BumDes (Village-

Owned Enterprises) in

minimizing brain drain

in rural areas.

The research highlights

that BumDes holds

valuable resources in the

villages, which can be

utilized to create

opportunities and retain

skilled individuals in

their local communities

Brain drain from Europe

to China in a digital

economy era? (Ma &

Zhao, 2022).

The study suggests that

the digital economy has

created a favorable

situation for both the

European Union and

China

Does the Brain Drain

Effect Really Exist? A

Meta-Analysis (Böttger,

Poschik, & Zierer,

2023).

Examines the existence

of the brain drain effect

through a meta-analysis.

The research aims to

verify the findings

related to the use of

smartphones and their

impact on cognition.

Migration Vulnerability:

The Role of Digital

Media and the Internet

in Stimulating and

Inhibiting Brain Drain

(Bhardwaj, 2017).

The literature review

highlights the potential

drawbacks of digital

media, such as the

spread of

misinformation and the

reinforcement of

stereotypes.

Mitigating brain drain

(Hijden & Wende, 2020)

It discusses various

approaches to address

brain drain, including

policies to attract and

retain skilled individuals

Brain Drain Issue of

Indonesia to Singapore:

Do Digital Media and

Internet Play a Role in

Stimulating It?

A study that attempts to

understand the brain

drain phenomenon from

Indonesia to Singapore

and the role of digital

media and the internet in

stimulating it.

Besides that, assessment of the role of digital

media & internet in inhibiting brain drain can be

conducted and studied related to the role of digital

media and internet in influencing burning issues

such as xenophobia, political expression or

stereotypes and their role in migration decisions with

a mediating role of digital media can be polluted.

The present study will be helpful in bringing new

dimensions to migration studies & studies related to

digital media age.

There are several points as recommendations

from the research results. First, the Indonesian

Citizens who move to Singapore can be described in

more detail for the demographic data. Second, the

digital media and internet can be explained more

specifically such as which platform that has more

affection for stimulating brain drain. Third, future

research can be done by using some software to

process the data.

REFERENCES

Asmuni, R. T. (2020). Minimizing brain drain: how

BumDes holds the best resources in the villages. IOP

Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science (p.

485). San Francisco: ECS Meeting.

Bhardwaj, B. (2017). Migration Vulnerability: Role of

Digital Media and Internet in Stimulating and

Inhibiting Brain Drain. International Journal of

Advances in Management and Economics, 24-32.

Böttger, T., Poschik, M., & Zierer, K. (2023). Does the

Brain Drain Effect Really Exist? A Meta-Analysis.

Behavioral sciences, 1-11.

Bungin, & Burhan. (2017). Metode Penelitian Kualitatif:

Aktualisasi Metodologi Kearah Ragam Variasi

Kontemporer. Jakarta: Raja Grafindo Persada.

Hijden, P., & Wende, M. (2020). Mitigating brain drain by

connecting universities. International Higher

Education, 1-7.

Indonesia, A. P. (2023, May 5). Hasil Survey Internet

APJII. Retrieved from Asosiasi Penyelenggara Jasa

Internet Indonesia:

https://survei.apjii.or.id/survei/2023

Ma, C., & Zhao, Z. (2022). Brain drain from Europe to

China in a digital. EconPol Forum, 23, 43-47.

Muhamad, N. (2023, July 18). Perpindahan WNI ke

Singapura Terus Meningkat Sepanjang 2019-2023.

Retrieved from Databoks Katadata:

https://databoks.katadata.co.id/datapublish/2023/07/18

/perpindahan-wni-ke-singapura-terus-meningkat-

sepanjang-2019-2023

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