AN Opposition leader urged the Government formulate workable policies to create jobs, instead of just painting a rosy picture to confuse the already-suffering public.
“Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said that the nation’s unemployment numbers will stabilise by middle of this year. The minister goes on to say that he hopes the situation will improve.
“I find this utterly irresponsible. Mustapa provided no solutions on how the unemployment rate will improve. On what basis did he say the situation will improve?” asked Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran in a statement.
Yesterday, The Edge reported Mustapa as saying that the unemployment situation in Malaysia will stabilise by middle of this year as the unemployment rate in January was 4.9%, lower than the 5.3% registered in May last year.
“In May last year, the unemployment rate was 5.3%, the highest during the pandemic period; yet at the beginning of this year, it was only 4.9%.
“It is hoped that the situation will improve and we expect by the middle of the year the situation will be more stable,” the Jeli MP was reported saying.
Tell the truth
Casting aspersions on Mustapa’s views, Kulasegaran said that things may not improve in the near future as Government statistics say otherwise.
Citing data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), the DAP leader said that as of January this year, the unemployment rate for those aged between 15 and 24 years increased by 0.3% to 13.5% month-on-month.
“Similarly, the youth unemployment for those aged between 15 to 30 years spiked by 0.5% to 9.2%c, compared to December last year. So, the statistics show that the unemployment rate is rising,” he added.
On that note, Kulasegaran, who is also a former Human Resources Minister, said that the Perikatan Nasional Government’s incompetence has caused Malaysia to fall behind in regional competition for foreign direct investments (FDI).
“FDI to Malaysia nosedived by 56% to US$3.4 bil last year and the Government has yet to come up with a proper plan to address this. How are we to create jobs like this?
“Perhaps Mustapa should do less hoping and formulate better policies to boost employment. Until then, Malaysians should just be cautious with their expectations,” he remarked. – March 22, 2021
