Kula: PH will fulfil 1 million jobs pledge
Harapan’s pledge to create a million jobs, as outlined in its 14th General Election (GE14) manifesto, is not an empty promise, said Human Resources Minister M. Kula- segaran.
He said although the government was capable of fulfilling the promise, it was facing insufficient manpower.
“The problem is not the figure or job availability. The problem is full employment as the unemployment rate is only 3.4 per cent.
“There is a shortage of workers. Efforts are being made to increase the pool of skilled workers as this will raise the nation’s income.
“Raising the minimum wage to RM1,500 is a policy of the government that can be achieved in five years’ time.
“The first step has been taken, which is raising the minimum wage from RM1,000 to RM1,100 effective January,” he said during the question-and-answer time at the Dewan Rakyat.
Kulasegaran was replying to a supplementary question by Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (Barisan Nasional-Bagan Datuk), who wanted to know if the government would keep its promise of creating a million jobs with a minimum pay of RM2,500 as contained in PH’s manifesto.
Citing statistics from the Labour Department for Jan 1 to Sept 30, Kulasegaran said the number of layoffs for the first nine months of this year had plunged to 15,903, from 31,945 for the same period last year.
“This number is much lower compared with the same period last year, which saw 31,945 workers laid off.
“(Nevertheless,) the government is introducing the Workers Insurance System (SIP) beginning Jan 1 (which acts) as a social safety net for those who lose their jobs.”
Kulasegaran explained that the government had implemented several initiatives, including improving the job-seeking system, Jobs Malaysia.
He said 137,404 students graduated from local higher learning institutions and abroad last year, a 4.4 per cent increase from the 131,600 graduates in 2016.