Incentive unfair and should be scrapped

UNDER Budget 2020’s Graduates@ Work programme, graduates who secure a job after being unemployed for more than a year will receive a wage incentive of RM500 per month for two years.

Employers will also receive a hiring incentive of RM300 per month for two years.

This Graduates@Work programme is nonsense and should be scrapped for the following reasons:

1. Government should encourage the young to be self-reliant and spend within their means instead of depending on free money;

2. Within two years, government would need to fork out RM19,200 on just one graduate under this programme. This is way too much. Government should use our tax money prudently. It would be better to use the money to help the old, disabled and needy;

3. This is unfair to graduates who are able to get a job within a year. This could also encourage graduates to be unemployed at least for a year;

4. It unfair to other unemployed groups. It’s not just graduates who are finding it hard to get a job in this weak economic environment. It’s even harder for those who are above 40 years old and have been retrenched.

5. It is unfair to all other low salary groups. It’s unfair if a graduate gets a RM500 boost while the others in low salary groups don’t; and

6. The RM300 hiring incentive could make employers favour unemployed graduates. Other unemployed groups and graduates would then be sidelined.

If the government does proceed with the programme, then I suggest it be broadened to cover all unemployed groups, not just graduates.

Lower the incentive to RM200 a month for both employee and employer, and offer it for one year only and to those who salaries are below RM1,800.

In this way, more people would benefit from the programme.