Not the time for Malaysians to be choosy over work

KUALA LUMPUR: Human Resource Minister Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem was recently quoted saying that there were 399,500 unemployed people in the country.

He further pointed out the majority of those unemployed were school dropouts and those who completed the Penilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) and Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examinations.

While these locals remain unemployed for reasons best known to them, thousands of foreign workers have been flooding the blue collar employment market in the country.

Realising of the numerous opportunities to earn a living in Malaysia, these foreigners are ready to risk their lives by getting into overcrowded boats that sail across open seas and against rough waves to get to Malaysia.

They are aware being illegal here they are at the mercy of their agents at one end and in the pursuit of the Malaysian authorities on the other end.

The latest figures indicate there are six million foreign workers in Malaysia, mostly from Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and India. And it is hard to believe that only 2.1 million of them are legally employed.

They can be found working in blue collar jobs anywhere in the country - plantation and agriculture, guards, labourers, waiters and even domestic helpers.

They remit billions of Ringgit to their homeland annually, contributing significantly to their motherland's economy.

But the question here is until when are we to depend on these foreign workers?

These unemployed Malaysians could replace them in many jobs. Also its time for Malaysian youths to look at the bigger picture and be ready to do anything legal to earn a living.

Even if they find the country could not provide them with a suitable job, then like the foreigners here they should think of going elsewhere to eke out a living.

The government's plan to create 1.5 million job opportunities for Malaysians under the 11th Malaysia Plan is meaningless if Malaysians continue to be choosy over work.

Also Malaysian youths should discard the belief that vocational, polytechnic and skill based training institutions are inferior.

These schools are not for those who don't excel in their studies but an alternative avenue for those who still want to seek spesific knowledge and hone their skills.

History is replete with examples of the many who were not academically inclined but ended up as entrepreneurs and employees of distinction. The names like Steve Jobs of Apple Inc., Bill Gates of Microsoft, Lim Goh Tong of Gentings, Loh Boon Siew of Honda Motorcycles and etc will tell one that academic achievements alone will not suffice.

Bernama had once interviewed an Orang Asli boy from the Jakun tribe who did not do well in his SPM. However, he never lost hope and continued his studies in a polytechnic and later gained an engineering degree at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia. The Orang Asli boy is now an engineer with a government department.

Even a university degree nowadays does not guarantee one a job. There is a surplus of graduates and the employers are equally choosy in employing them.

Local tabloid Kosmo recently highlighted some individuals who did well in life despite of fairing poorly in school.

The only difference is that they never gave up and continued learning and picking up skills until they succeeded in their undertakings.