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Who is prospering
from jobless grads?
Comment by Dr Lim Teck Ghee
DATUK Seri Najib Razak’s 2010
Budget is called “1Malaysia,
Together we prosper”. Before
the prime minister’s multi-
million ringgit sloganeering,
his predecessor Tun Abdullah
Ahmad Badawi had introduced
the “Prosper” theme. Abdul-
lah in his Oct 30, 2005 budget
speech announced “Prosper”
or Projek pembangunan usaha-
wan dalam bidang peruncitan
to help graduates venture into
business. Under Prosper, Per-
badanan Usahawan Nasional
Berhad (PUNB) would finance
200 graduates up to RM50,000
each; that easily amounts to
RM10 million.
Prosper is an ongoing
programme and this year, its
attachment training will allow
participants to intern in PUNB
investee companies. The cost
of ensuring this prosperity is,
however, not open to public
knowledge.
Nonetheless, the RM10 mil-
lion allocated in Abdullah’s
Budget 2006 is clearly a drop
in the ocean compared to the
RM700 million set aside in
Najib’s March 10 mini-budget.
The latter’s stimulus package
planned to create 163,000 train-
ing and job placement oppor-
tunities for retrenched workers
and unemployed graduates.
Of this number, 50,000
will be absorbed into the civil
service, adding to its already
obese size and bloated payroll.
It is important to note that
under the RM191.5 billion
1Malaysia Budget, 72.2% is
for operating expenditure, out
of which RM42.2 billion is for
emoluments. Furthermore last
month, a “special financial con-
tribution” (announced earlier)
in the form of a year-end bonus
totalling RM400 million will be
paid to public sector employees
from Grades 41 to 54.
‘Treasuring’
human capital
It is true that other parts of
the world also face the problem
of workers getting laid off and
school leavers unable to find
jobs due to the depressed global
economy.
However, Malaysia’s num-
bers are staggering. Based on
estimates, about 60,000 gradu-
ates might find it difficult to
seek employment at all times,
said Najib when launching the
Graduate Employability Man-
agement Scheme (GEMS) on
March 13.
GEMS is run by Khazanah
Nasional Berhad under the ae-
gis of the Finance Ministry. The
precursor to GEMS is the Grad-
uate Employability Enhance-
ment (GREEN) programme,
also tasked to Khazanah in
co-operation with GLCs.
We can safely assume that
a proportion of these targeted
graduates have not been able to
find work in the fields in which
they hold the requisite paper
qualification. Meanwhile, the
government continues to fail to
address the longstanding lack of
Retraining for graduates and youth
* The outline table above is incomplete as information is unavailable in the public domain
Unemployed graduates
relevance of the courses taught
in the public universities and
the low standards of graduates
produced.
Instead of getting it right
from the get-go through struc-
tural reform of the higher edu-
cation system (and better still
the entire schooling system),
our authorities are attempt-
ing to fix the shortcomings of
graduates who flounder in the
competitive marketplace by
pouring money to correct their
mis-education.
It is all the more worrying
when Khazanah’s director of
strategic human capital man-
agement Azman Mohd Hussein
reveals that the unemployed
graduates have to be given
remedial and practical training
for a whole year to improve
their communication skills and
increase their level of confi-
dence.
And similar to the “Prosper”
scenario, the public are not
cognizant of Khazanah’s ex-
penditure breakdown either.
Hitting rock bottom
soon?
Something’s very wrong
when the situation keeps getting
from bad to worse with no light
at the end of the tunnel.
As early as Sept 25, 2001,
then prime minister Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad had un-
veiled an economic stimulus
package which earmarked
RM150 million for 10,000
degree and diploma holders.
This allowed them to learn IT,
brush up on mathematics and
English, in addition to provid-
ing RM500 monthly allowances
on a temporary basis until end-
2002.
“Temporary” appears to have
been a misplaced optimism be-
cause the chronic problem has
persisted for nearly a decade
now.
Between January 2004 and
June 2005, the government’s
human resources development
fund paid out RM265.2 million
in training grants to individuals.
From November 2001 until mid-
2006, the Graduate Training
Scheme had retrained almost
22,000 unemployed graduates,
then human resources minister
TELLING IT AS IT IS
Managing Editor: Chong Cheng Hai
Consultant Editor: Zainon Ahmad
Executive Editor: Lee Boon Siew
Deputy Editor: Patrick Choo (Production),
Editor: R. Nadeswaran (Special Reporting and Investiga-
tions)
Dr Fong Chan Onn disclosed in
his paper “Developing human
capital” delivered on Aug 21,
2006.
Nonetheless, on Dec 27, 2007
a paper presented by the Insti-
tute of Islamic Understanding
(Ikim) quoted a comment from
the minister on the inadequate
success rate of the retraining.
Ikim research officer Nor Harti-
ni Saari said “roughly RM500
million” had been expended in
retraining.
Two years down the road on
Oct 20, 2009, Higher Education
Minister Mohd Khaled Nordin
still talked about RM48 million
spent in university partnerships
with corporations “in strategic
sectors that could improve
innovation-based industries
and guarantee graduates of job
opportunities”.
Unless our public coffers are
replenished by King Midas, the
government may soon go broke
from the “guarantees”.
It is just not sustainable
to have the next generation
depend on the nanny state even
after they have been provided
with ample tertiary education
opportunities, with gener-
ous financial assistance and
babysitting after graduation,
and eventually bailouts every
step of the way.
Raiding the public
treasury
Various ministries and
entrepreneurial agencies have
set up their own graduate
retraining programme and this
makes the tracking of fiscal
allocations difficult.
For example, the RM7 billion
stimulus package revealed by
Najib on Nov 4 last year allo-
cated RM300 million for a skills
training programme fund (with
focus on tourism and “business
process outsourcing sectors”
among others); RM200 million
for programmes by private
training institutions and RM100
million for youth programmes
at various levels – we see here
three intersecting areas.
Then there is “another RM70
million to facilitate employ-
ment of retrenched employees
and graduates seeking jobs”,
a special allocation approved
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The rise
Shell’s
one-litre
challenge
is back
of the right
by Sonia Randhawa
pg 16
MY first weekend at university was exciting. From an
archaic university ceremony, where we were accepted
as undergraduates, my friends and I raced to catch
a bus to take us into London for one of the largest
demonstrations that year, against the rise of the British
National Party, a far-right party. While the demonstra-
by the cabinet as announced tion ended in chaos, I managed to escape the turmoil,
by Human Resources Minister and had a generally exhilarating time. I was helping in
Dr S. Subramaniam on Jan 21, the fight against fascism, and it felt great.
2009 in Putrajaya. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. Since the begin-
The RM70 million could ning of their comeback in the early 1990s, the BNP
well be a tranche from the has increased in strength in every election. And Britain
RM600 million-infusion for has always been less amenable to extreme parties
skills training under Najib’s than the countries of continental Europe. In Hungary,
RM7 billion package a year there are concerns that a far-right party will enter into
ago. Or then again, maybe not government in the coming elections, and the right
... who knows. In any case, the has been rising across the former Communist states.
RM600 million was augmented And while slightly further from power, the 80s saw
by another whopping RM700 the turning of the fortunes
million barely four months later of the far-right in Western
under Najib’s second stimulus Europe and despite occa-
package. sional setbacks they still
When so many quarters are wield disproportionate
involved in the overlapping influence.
effort between government But it was in July’s
agencies, GLCs, and the private European Union elections
sector, only the “special com- that the far-right showed
mittees” established to manage their ability to bring in
the funds know the full details. voters. In an election with
Even the auditor-general’s an abysmally low turnout,
office probably does not have
the complete picture of how
Freespace the far-right managed to
get as much as 17% of the
much money is being poured Where young views rule votes in Austria and the
into remedying incompetence Netherlands, along with
in the public universities. And seats from the UK, Hungary and Slovakia. This means
what the results have been. If it they have more money and resources at their disposal,
does, it would be very important and have a solid foundation on which to build.
for the public accounts commit- The causes of this rise are being continually ana-
tee to put this information out in lysed, from the failure of the left to engage the working
the public domain. class to the pandering of the centre-right to the ex-
It may be argued that the fact tremist agenda (particularly in the areas of immigration
that these public funds seem and “dealing with Islam”). Their supporters, at least in
to be going towards so many the UK, actively campaign that there is an Islamisation
“facilitators” and “consultancy” process going on in Europe, and that this needs to be
companies shows a prima- battled. Literally, at times.
rily liberal and laissez-faire But there’s one general trend that is behind it. The
approach used by the govern- failure of more centrist parties to meet the challenges
ment to tackle the problem. we face today. Since the neo-con agenda of the 1980s
Also of some relief is that took its stranglehold on economic discourse, the gap
no monopoly seems to have between rich and poor both between and within na-
appeared in cornering the tions has been widening – as true of Malaysia as it is
market. the countries of Europe. According to some sources,
The crush of agencies, even on the right, the majority of people have been
ministries and private agents getting poorer, as wages stopped keeping pace with
seeking participation in this inflation. And things aren’t looking any brighter for
fast-growing industry of Europe’s young. When I was at university in the UK,
“enhancing graduate employ- the only people to drop out were those that, for one
ability” should reassure us that reason or another, could not cope with the stress and
there are droves of Malaysians workload. For my sisters at university today, their Brit-
who are driven by patriotism to ish counterparts are finding they can’t afford to be at
help our hapless graduates. The university, the fees and the cost of living conspiring to
unkind among us may suspect keep them from tertiary education. While this could
that making a quick buck – or be justified if more spending was going to other parts
rather making buckets of bucks of the education system, that just isn’t happening. As
– is more the real motivation. one Guardian editorial noted, the only minority that
has consistently been defended by successive govern-
ments is millionaires.
No solution in sight And the challenges aren’t going to go away. In De-
cember, governments will be meeting in Copenhagen
Considering that many of to decide how to move forward in the battle against
our young adults are no surer climate change. Generally, I dislike using military
of securing jobs after gradua- metaphors, but perhaps it’s the only way to illustrate
tion today than they were in the severity of the problem. Conservative scientific
2001 and three prime ministers estimates say we need to cut emissions by 40% right
ago, the public and the current now to avoid disaster. More radical estimates abound.
undergraduate population And yet, in Europe, home to some of the world’s worst
have a right to demand a full carbon culprits, debates on restricting immigration and
accounting of the huge sums of Islamisation are holding sway, climate tucked away in
taxpayers’ money spent. a forgotten percentile of votes.
We also need to know the The far-right isn’t about to take a platform advocat-
outcome of independent impact ing climate justice. But then, neither is anyone else in
studies that can provide empiri- the West, with the exception of some of the Greens
cal data on how effective or in- (and possibly the Swedish Pirate Party, in favour of
effective this massive injection Internet file swapping).
of public funds has been. It may seem a long way removed from the poli-
In the parliamentary debate ticking of Malaysia’s parties. But the problems facing
taking place on the 2010 Budget, Europe’s “natural” parties of government are the same
there needs to be an explanation one our politicians are ignoring. While the rhetoric of
on where the total RM1.3 billion race, religion and internal bickering pervade our politi-
appropriated over the recent cal landscape, just as the far-right has resurrected them
year for training and retraining in Europe, the problems we face today, and, worse, the
purposes went to. And who has problems of tomorrow, are becoming increasingly hard
prospered from the money. to solve.
Dr Lim Teck Ghee is director, Sonia thinks liberty and equality are the only real
Centre for Policy Initiatives. guarantors of security. Comments: letters@thesundaily.
Feedback: letters@thesundaily. com
com.