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KOTA KINABALU – It is incorrect to shift the blame on jobseekers and call them choosy, said former Sabah youth and sports minister Phoong Jin Zhe in response to remarks by state Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Yakubah Khan.
“According to statistics reported, Sabah is on top of the list of most low-skilled labour workforce at an average of 24% and 27%. In comparison to the national average of 12% and 14%, our rate is extraordinarily high.
“Youths under 40 years old make up more than 50% of Sabah’s total population and the majority of them are also part of the low-skilled workforce mentioned above,” he said in a statement.
Phoon added that the minister should not have passed judgement that unemployed locals are picky, but instead consider whether it was the incompetence of the government that is to blame for its inability to create jobs or high-paying jobs.
“It is also highly unacceptable that the minister is publicly calling for fresh graduates to compromise for low-skilled occupations despite their high qualifications.
“This is wasting human capital and if the scenario continues to worsen, we might face another wave of brain drain. This has proven the failure of this system and governance,” said Phoong, who is DAP’s Luyang assemblyman.
At a career fair in Sandakan yesterday, Yakubah urged local jobseekers to not be picky and be prepared to look for jobs out of state.
Phoong said the higher unemployment rate in Sabah is due to the lack of decent job opportunities in Sabah.
He added that the jobs available in the market do not meet the demands of the fresh graduates.
He said the pay offered also barely could sustain them upon graduating.
“I strongly urge the government to focus on their duty, which is to create more jobs and opportunities for our youth rather than pointing fingers at them.
“This should be set as a priority to prevent our younger generations from leaving the state and nation to seek for a better living environment,” said Phoong, adding that Yakubah must consider setting up a bipartisan committee to look into this issue.
“With this committee, we can look into various solutions and discuss how to address the issue effectively. The government should also look into working with more local SMEs to create decent jobs for the youth of Sabah.
“They should introduce more initiatives to help young entrepreneurs and encourage young entrepreneurship. This would be a method to lower the skyrocketing high youth unemployment rate.” – The Vibes, January 24, 2022
