The view is the same during the festive season every single year – a gridlock in Gombak, stretching endlessly towards the East Coast.
Millions of the Kelantanese diaspora flock from the nation’s capital to visit their families in their hometowns. We, of course, know why this is the case – the Kelantanese are seeking employment in bulk. What we do not often discuss, however, is the underlying structural reason why this remains the norm.
It is no secret that Kelantan is not exactly what we would define as a developed, or even rapidly developing, state. Its GDP contribution remains one of the lowest nationwide, and its median income is uncompetitive.
Kelantanese, especially young professionals, have no choice but to emigrate, either within Malaysia or beyond national borders. This situation is almost unique to Kelantan; the lack of substantial economic activity renders high-level employment a non-option. Professionals – accountants, engineers, architects – are tethered to industries that simply do not exist in the state.
But simple wage disparities do not fully explain the permanence of this exodus.
The real cause is much more complex – a situation that places the state in a vicious cycle of mediocrity. The core catalyst for migration is rather simple: Kelantan does not house an anchor industry to attract and retain talent.
The absence of an industrial anchor – like semiconductors in Penang or oil and gas in Terengganu – has led to an overall stagnant economy. It must be noted that the establishment of a major industry with multiple players leads to the emergence of critical support sectors.
A factory needs more than just operators; it needs audit firms, corporate law practices, and engineering consultancies. These industries co-exist to form a professional ecosystem. Without the “Big Brother” industrial giants, the “Little Brother” service firms cannot survive.
This industrial vacuum was not an accident but rather a failure of vision. Critical underinvestment in the past has left the state significantly behind its peers.
While Penang’s leadership in the 1970s and 80s was actively pushing for a semiconductor ecosystem, Kelantan’s leadership was giving logging licences away. One opted for an industrial engine that feeds generations; the other stripped the land for a short-term cash injection.
This shortsighted leadership made Kelantan significantly undesirable, both to high-value investors and to its own citizens.
This creates a feedback loop of mediocrity. The lack of industry drives the increasing outflow of talent. In turn, without a skilled workforce, there is no incentive for new industries to enter the state.
This brings a painful dilemma for Kelantanese youth: “Do I remain in my home state, or do I leave?”
Some choose to stay, while others choose to leave. In a cruel twist, both perspectives are valid. In an ideal world, the best choice is to stay where your family is, where you grew up, and where your heart resides.
But the reality is far from ideal. We live in a world where career survival trumps hometown comfort. The choice is not necessarily between life and death, but between growth and stagnation.
For the ambitious, to stay is to accept a ceiling on your potential; to leave is often the only way to break through it. Until the ecosystem changes, the traffic at Gombak will remain a symbol not just of celebration, but of necessary sacrifice.
The solution to break this cycle lies in billions of ringgit in strategic investment. To solve the Kelantan dilemma, both the federal and state governments must forge a seamless partnership with the private sector. The road ahead is not a smooth one, but it is a necessary path to ensure the economic survival of the state and its people.
Critically, the answer is not found merely in building new factory shells, but in cultivating an ecosystem that sustains them. This includes a robust higher education pipeline to supply a ready workforce, as well as a thriving network of smaller players – logistics, maintenance, and services – that supplement the core industry.
Only by building this complete chain can the state hope to turn the tide.
Irham Zulkernain hails from Kelantan and is a student of Applied English Language Studies at Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur.
The views expressed here are the personal opinion of the writer and do not necessarily represent that of Twentytwo13.