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Manpower minister says ‘no problem’ if citizens seek better jobs abroad
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Jobseekers throng a jobs fair in Surabaya, East Java, on March 7, 2023. Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) shows that open unemployment in the country was 4.82 percent in February 2024, down 0.63 percent from the same period last year. (Antara/Juni Kriswanto)
M
anpower Minister Yassierli acknowledged on Monday that it remained a challenge for the government to prevent brain drain in Indonesia but said no one could be prevented from seeking greener pastures abroad.
He was responding to a weeklong protest of Indonesians expressing their frustration on social media over unemployment, massive state budget cuts to key sectors, decreased purchasing power and a lack of access to crucial commodities such as subsidized motor fuel. In the chatter, netizens used #KaburAjaDulu, which translates to “Let’s just run away”, when discussing the prospect of leaving the county and moving abroad.
Yassierli said he saw no problem with Indonesians seeking jobs overseas, saying that the onus was on the government to create better jobs at home if it wanted to retain its skilled labor force.
“There are opportunities available abroad, so these netizens are not only motivated by wanting to flee,” Yassierli said on Monday, as quoted by kompas.com.
“If there are opportunities and they would like to leave in order to increase their skills and then come back to Indonesia to develop the nation, there is no problem,” he added.
Read also: Indonesians consider fleeing country as frustration with government grows
In the past week, the hashtag #KaburAjaDulu has seen hundreds of thousands of Indonesians expressing their frustration and anger toward the government, including members of the diaspora population coming online and sharing resources to those aspiring to leave.
