MALAYSIA’S “extraordinary” 5.6% first quarter export growth this year is meaningless if it is not able to provide jobs for Malaysians, Parti Warisan Sabah president Shafie Apdal said. 

He said the reality was the jobless and poverty rate is rising and the country could expect more layoffs this year.

“As far as I know, the figures could be based on random checks based on the industries, but the realities are more worrying, especially at the grassroots level.

“There are not enough jobs to go around even for graduates,” he said in his latest video live feed recorded in Kampung Tg Aru, Putatan, on Monday.

Shafie said this just as Putrajaya maintained its 5% growth outlook on the country’s overall trade this year, with International and Trade Minister Mustapa Mohammed announcing a 5.6% export growth in the first quarter.  

According to Shafie, the number of students graduating from universities was rising each year but the chances of them getting hired were getting narrower as the pool of jobs had become smaller.

He said even the federal government under the leadership of prime minister Najib Razak had to formulate the National Transformation 2050 (TN50), a 30-year extension as it had fallen back on achieving developed nation status by 2020.  

“I don’t see Malaysia achieving a modern nation status,” he said.  

He said those with jobs feared getting laid off as the country’s economy was going into a slump, citing the 6,000 Malaysia Airlines staff terminated under its restructuring in 2015 as a prime example.

“Now 400 bank branches across the country are being closed down under what is believed to be a rationalisation exercise.  

“How do we improve our economy if they don’t provide loans to small medium entrepreneurs? Why only give loans to big companies?” said Shafie.  

He also said the number of poor had increased based on increased BR1M recipients each year.

Malaysia increased its budget for BR1M from RM5 billion in 2015 to RM5.9 billion this year.  

“Resource-rich Sabah should not have a high poverty rate as it is naturally the country’s largest timber, oil palm and oil producer,” he said. – June 21, 2017.