Sin Chew Daily

The government will spend RM4.8 billion to create 600,000 jobs through the Keluarga Malaysia Jamin Kerja scheme with the objective of lowering the unemployment rate to 4% to spearhead the country’s economic recovery.

The Jamin Kerja scheme is made up of three different programs: the RM2 billion JKIP wage subsidy program, the RM1.7 billion short-term employment program (MySTEP), and RM1.1 billion technical enhancement and training program. The principal objective is to create job opportunities through hiring and short-term employment.

It is the government’s priority in 2022 to lend its support to local enterprises and create job opportunities for Malaysians to ensure economic recovery, and this has been one of the government’s targeted measures in Budget 2022.

Such measures no doubt come as spirit-lifting news for companies badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic which has given rise to sporadic lockdowns over the past two years, causing them to suffer tremendous financial difficulty, as well as Malaysians who have lost their jobs during this period of time.

Due to permanent closure of companies as a result of the pandemic, the unemployment rate has soared. As for those which have survived the crisis, they have been unable to offer better remunerations to their employees. As such, the government’s initiative should help hasten the recovery of the job market.

The objective and basis of economic development is full employment for the people, and this is a very important internal factor to promote and support the country’s long-term economic development.

In view of this, the tenacity of Malaysian companies needs to be emphasized for sustained economic development. At the same time, we also need to groom a team of competent and efficient labor force to tackle the unpredictable changes and challenges in the future. As such, we must have long-term plans to grow our employment market for long-term economic expansion, not just short-term solutions.

The profitability of a business still very much lies with the effort in lowering the production cost and not boosting a product’s added value through innovation and operational efficiency. This has become a major obstacle in enhancing the employment environment and promoting wage growth.

Very often employers have refused to improve the working conditions of their staff on the pretext such a move will impact their operations and profitability.

This means that the government must ensure that employees are contributing positively towards the country’s economic productivity in the long run.

Meanwhile, the government and private companies should not oversimplify the complicated job market structure, but must come up with more comprehensive strategies specifically targeted at the core problems, meaning we must have long-term plans to stabilize the job market in revitalizing the national economy.

The welfare of people at different social levels needs to be constantly taken care of. Among the measures that can be adopted include strengthening technical enhancement and skill retraining, creating new and long-term job opportunities while existing job opportunities are assured. This will ensure sustained growth for the well-being of Malaysians as well as the country’s economy.

Along the way, we must also avoid the dilemma of underutilization of our human resources. During the current and even future phases of economic development, it is utterly important that we are able to view the human resource development in a broader perspective.

The government’s initiative should place more emphasis on the skill development of our labor force, improvement of their educational standards, and the implementation of more effective employment policies. This is to satisfy the skill and adaptability abilities required by the job market.

Such inequilibrium in job market needs could be a consequence of short supply of talented workforce to meet the demands of the job market, as well as unrealistic employment expectations from the workforce over the decades. It is therefore important for the government to appropriately readjust our directions and strategies in a bid to improve the country’s economy, and this requires the concerted effort and cooperation among individuals, employers, trade associations and government, in order to support sustained job creation while meeting the needs of the industry.

The government’s initiative are excellent, but we must also seriously look into the issue of job protection by improving job market quality through a series of effective measures in a bid to lift the professional skills of the labor market to boost employment stability.

Meanwhile, local companies must expedite their transformation process in order to survive and thrive in the ever-changing world. Those who have lost their jobs must also be willing to pick up new skills in order to enhance their employability.

While the government’s generous wage subsidies and employment incentives will somehow mitigate the impact suffered by Malaysians from the pandemic, Malaysians must be mentally prepared to face the new normal in the job market because even if the job market conditions have improved, the nature of work may no longer be the same as in the past.