PETALING JAYA: Former human resources minister M Kula Segaran said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government has failed to stem unemployment and create new jobs.
He said he disagreed with the statement by economic affairs minister Mustapa Mohamed that graduates should be grateful if they get a job even with a low salary amid a struggling economy.
“As a sitting minister, I find that it is utterly irresponsible for him to say graduates should be grateful if they get a job even with a low salary. It is his job to ensure that graduates do not have to settle for low salaries,” Kula said in a statement.
“Mustapa should instead admit that the PN government has failed to lead the nation gradually out of the Covid-19 pandemic by establishing the necessary foundation in creating value-adding and high-paying jobs.
“There is a need for structural change in the economy where industries should be incentivised to move into a higher value chain so that youths would be utilised for the skills and paid reasonably.”
The DAP vice-chairman said Mustapa should be more sensitive to the youths who are having a tough time finding jobs or getting a decent wage.
“It is not their fault entirely when the government’s policies seem inadequate,” he said.
Yesterday, Mustapa said graduates’ salaries were lower than usual because of a weak job market resulting from the economy shrinking 5.6% in 2020. However, he said the situation should improve in the next three to four months.
Kula said low salaries with semi-skilled and unskilled jobs are not appropriate in the long term since the potential, knowledge and skills of the young workforce would be underutilised resulting in underemployment and productivity loss for the nation.
“Even if salaries improve gradually as the economy grows, there is no guarantee that wages will go up since Malaysia’s social-economic paradigm is built on cheap labour.
“By paying youths low wages equivalent to minimum wage, we have underutilised the potential of youth in the country. Policies must be drawn up to address this,” he said.
The Ipoh Barat MP called for politics to be put aside and an independent committee comprising MPs from both sides, NGOs, employers, unions and other stakeholders to be set up immediately to address unemployment and underemployment among youths.
Additionally, he said, Parliament should be reconvened immediately to address the issue.
“If nothing is done soon, our graduates will be in a very precarious situation,” he said.
FMT
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