FINANCE Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz recently said that Malaysia’s unemployment rate of 4.8% in February was better when compared with other countries.
He specifically cited the Philippines, which has an unemployment rate of 8.7%, India with 6.9% and the US with 6.2%, and further stated that in 2020, there were 150 countries that faced a contraction.
In his own words, “Malaysia was not the only country that had faced an economic slump in 2020. If we look at 2020, there were actually 150 countries that faced a contraction. This is not a Malaysian economic crisis, this is a global economic crisis.”
But why compare Malaysia with other countries in the first place? Regardless the level of unemployment, this is bad news for the country.
“It’s like failing an important exam and then telling your mom that three others did worse than you, so you’re not that bad,” a friend commented over coffee the other day.
Pretty lame comparison, but it really does make sense.
With no end in sight when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic, jobs are scarce, and people are still struggling to make ends meet.
To make things worse, the number of daily COVID-19 cases are on the rise again. In fact, all signs pointing to the possibilities of a fourth wave of infections, and if that truly happens, what would become of the country’s unemployment rate?
And so, instead of making comparisons – with countries performing worse than Malaysia, no less – more effort needs to be put into solving the country’s unemployment crisis.
While we are at it, more effort needs to also be put into resolving our COVID-19 woes as well, as plenty of jobs out there are at stake too.
Having said that, comparing the country’s unemployment rate to others isn’t going to get us anywhere.
What Malaysians would appreciate more at this point of time is a country that is united in the face of the pandemic. – April 25, 2021
