Malaysia’s graduate employability rate fell to 84.4% in 2020, down marginally from 86.2% year-on-year, said its Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE).
The new initiatives would cater to Malaysians and businesses that are the most affected by the pandemic, said the finance minister.
Employers are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to hiring, says the Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF).
Entrepreneur development and cooperatives minister has said SMEs must ready themselves with digital technology.
The government has replaced the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Penang to a conditional MCO (CMCO).
Malaysia allocates RM$7 million to accelerate COVID-19 screening for foreign workers
All Malaysians should seize the opportunities made available under the Malaysia Digital Economy Blueprint, says Malaysian minister.
Under the National Economic Recovery Plan, the scheme prioritises SMEs that have not received financing from banks previously.
Failure to comply with government orders to improve living quarters will result in RM200,000 in fines or a three-year jail term, or both.
The government also aims for the digital economy to contribute to 22.6% of the country’s gross domestic product in four years.
Yayasan Peneraju, an initiative to strengthen the capacity of bumiputeras (local Malays), has trained and certified over 36,000 bumiputeras since 2012.
Poor English proficiency and skills mismatch among graduates are reasons why they are less desirable in the job market, says MEDAC minister.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has said that more than 160,000 jobs are expected to be created in 2021 through investments in human capital.
The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) has said the country’s unemployment rate increased 4.5% in 2020 – the highest in 27 years.
The continued closure due to movement controls will inevitably lead to bankruptcy and unemployment, cautions the Malaysian Employers’ Federation.
The Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) said the local economy has the capacity to create 70,000 jobs for every 1% increase in its GDP.
Finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the government will not impose a strict lockdown as it would impact the country’s 900,000 SMEs severely.
Yayasan Peneraju said the country’s young human capital needs to be retrained and upskilled to keep up with digitalisation trends.
This will help the country manage the economy better, and help industry players affected by the pandemic, Malaysia's HR minister says.
The third phase of the country’s wage subsidy programme will receive an additional injection of RM500 million.
The government’s strategy to mitigate the effects of the pandemic should be to upskill or reskill workers instead of continuing to pay wage subsidies.
Twenty-five MPs have appealed to the government to implement six months of automatic loan moratorium to save jobs.
The Social Security Organisation (Socso) has committed to the quick implementation of the Permai financial package.
Initiatives include a one-off monetary assistance for taxi and bus drivers, and a special three-month electric bills discount for six business sectors.
The Malaysian Trades Union Congress had previously proposed emergency employment laws to be enacted to prevent businesses from retrenching workers.
Fearing that their businesses will not be able to operate at full capacity, some employers remained silent about staff testing positive for the virus.
Employers will also be responsible for medical costs and ensuring the welfare of their foreign workers.
The government is partnering international venture capital fund managers to create jobs, said Malaysia’s finance minister.
Employers or employees may now be represented by any person of their choice, excluding lawyers, during dispute processes.
Out of the six leading economies in Southeast Asia, three countries are expected to expand in 2021, while others will struggle to recover.
