KOTA BARU: Some 2,000 to 3,000 Chinese youths leave Kelantan each year for better job prospects elsewhere, says Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Dr Fong Chan Onn.

And tens of thousands of other youths - Malays, Indians and Malaysians of Siamese descent - are also seeking greener pastures outside the state.

The phenomenon, a rising trend in the past decade, is because of the state's inability to create sufficient jobs, he said after laying the foundation stone for the new RM1.6mil state MCA building in the newly-created Kota Baru Waterfront Township.

Dr Fong said the ministry had found that Kelantanese were among the most earnest in seeking better prospects.

"Some are willing to wait from dawn to dusk to seek interviews for jobs in manufacturing hubs in Penang, Selangor and Johor and, of late, even in (neighbouring) Terengganu," he added.

He said the release of such figures was not to politicise the fact that Kelantan has been governed by PAS for the past 18 years, but to underline the serious need to create more, and better paying, jobs in the state.

Dr Fong said the ministry would like to see skilled Kelantanese remain at home.

"The state needs to stem the brain drain and such people are needed to contribute towards development in Kelantan."

It was inadequate to depend just on the remittance of wages from those working outside the state, he said, adding that there must be a real effort to boost the economy from within.

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