I am delighted to obtain the ‘likes’ from readers to my story entitled “The 5th MADANI Budget continuing the implementation on the Government priority and development agendas” published by newswav.com on Saturday, 17 October 2026. Permit me to quote an encouraging feedback from Dato' Bijayo Adi Satria Ahmad, Auditor of MyAeroSatu, who aptly articulated that “No budget is perfect and can fulfill everyone's needs! But this budget is aspirational, caring and reformist. After decades of leakages due to corruption which has entrenched in the system and created negative and opportunistic and selfish attitudes in implementation these negative traits need to be dismantled and reformed to deliver its aspirations. Much work need to be done. Our economists, practical corporate and business people see its positive traits which is achievable to a certain extend given the unpredictable geopolitical environment. We just have to grab the opportunities. This is NOT CHESS which looks FAIR! This is also like MAHJONG - you didn't know what card you gonna get - but WHAT TO DO - JUST PLAY! That's why the Chinese in CHINA is always winning the game.”
I agree with Dato' Bijayo that Malaysia will focus on high-growth, high-value industries to create skilled jobs and raise wages, despite a lower unemployment rate in 2026. Our Malaysian graduates, including my former students, are working below their qualifications and earning low wages, highlighting a mismatch between skills and jobs. The current labor market must be assessed not based on the unemployment rate but also alongside other indicators, such as the proportion of skilled workers and the skills-related underemployment rate. Skilled workers accounted for 30.1 per cent of the workforce in 2025. Under the Budget 2027, the government will focus on high growth industries driven by innovation, digitalization, advanced technology and knowledge-intensive activities.
As a management educator and HRD practitioner, I believe the government strategy focuses on direct institutional alignment, public-private curriculum design, and tech-driven career mobility to intentionally developing high-growth, high-value industries (like artificial intelligence [AI] and advanced semiconductors) that specially match the tech qualifications of Malaysia's tertiary graduates.
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Zulkifly Baharom (hajizul50@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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