Don't settle for being wage earners, PM tells students

Yasmin Ramlan Yasmin Ramlan Updated 8 years ago · Published on 15 Oct 2017 10:35PM · 4 Comments

Prime Minister Najib Razak speaking during the Varsity Entrepreneurship Skills and Talents (VEST) 2017 gala at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia tonight. VEST is an initiative under the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry and Perbadanan Nasional Berhad, under the government's TN50 push. – The Malaysian Insight pic by Kamal Ariffin, October 15, 2017.

PRIME Minister Najib Razak has urged students to become entrepreneurs instead of resigning themselves to being wage earners after graduating.

“I don’t want students’ mentality to be, ‘I’ll join a company and just become a wage earner’. We must challenge ourselves to go down the path of entrepreneurship, which can promise a more meaningful future,” he said at the Varsity Entrepreneurship Skills and Talents (VEST) 2017 gala at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia tonight.

He said not only did entrepreneurs not have to rely on companies for their salaries, but they could provide employment opportunities to others.

“Through programmes like VEST that highlight entrepreneurship, I believe that more students will consider going down that path.

“Don’t resign yourselves to being just wage earners, when you can become entrepreneurs who pay other people’s wages.”

In August, Higher Education Minister Idris Jusoh said 54,103 graduates were unable to secure employment six months upon completing their studies last year.

He said the number did not comprise only graduates of public institutions of higher learning, but included those of private institutions.

He was responding to a question by Senator Ng Chiang Chin, who wanted to know the rate of unemployment among graduates in the country.

“Entrepreneurs are able to generate wealth for themselves and for the country. That is why, through VEST and similar programmes, we will build a new generation, among the TN50 (National Transformation 2050) generation,” said Najib.

“We want to train this generation and equip them with entrepreneurship skills so that we’ll have a capable group that can generate more wealth for the country.”

VEST is an initiative under the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry and Perbadanan Nasional Berhad, under the government’s TN50 push. – October 15, 2017.

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Comments

  • A crook giving advise how to make a living..Rich.

    Posted 8 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • Yeah. Get into UMNO like MO1 and swindled billions.

    Posted 8 years ago by Awang Top · Reply

  • Walk the talk. Cut off your salary and any other means of income u earn mister. Your stupid Treaseury Sec knows how to sell at nite market

    Posted 8 years ago by Jimmy Jimmy · Reply

  • The BN government has failed to provide jobs for Rakyat. Thats y u ask them to involve in business and pasar malam sellers. Rakyat should have choices, those who pursue degress wanted wage earn and those who have business skills wanted to be their own boss. BN is killing silently Rakyat dreams! How dare u forcing people to change their dreams in a blink of an eye. To get worse, there is no support in terms of training, financial aids. What really happened to the 6000 unemployed MAS stafss? They were retrained but still jobless and no where to go! Now there are around 20000 Malaysians who r above 40 years old lost their jobs and cannot find new jobs or open small businesses. How about the 500000 fresh graduates? Still jobless ma.

    Posted 8 years ago by Jimmy Jimmy · Reply