THE government’s RM6.5 billion allocation for the Malaysia@Work programme will create more jobs over the next five years, said Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The prime minister said the programme has many long-term multiplier effects that will last beyond five years.

“It creates jobs, it creates learning opportunities, it creates relationships that require collaboration,” he said in his keynote address at the International Social Well-Being Conference 2019 and launch of Malaysia@Work in Kuala Lumpur today.

He said all parties must come together to tackle unemployment-related challenges.

“When a big proportion of our youth are unemployed, we lose their potential contribution to the country, waste the investments we have made in their education, and create fertile grounds for discontent and instability.

“It will take a Malaysian solution and a Malaysian team to resolve this Malaysian problem. The Malaysia@Work programme is the Malaysian answer to resolving employment challenges in the marketplace.”

With so many jobs set to be rendered obsolete by technology, he warned, fresh graduates will be the most impacted.

On women, he said: “We have Women@Work (under the Malaysia@Work programme) because women hold up half the sky. This is certainly the case in Malaysia.

“At every juncture of our history, women, who are the primary caretakers in the family unit, have played an integral role in raising Malaysians with strong values.”

He added that the government wants 3D workers – those with “dirty, dangerous and difficult” jobs – to know that they hold “dignified, dynamic and desirable” positions.

“I truly admire the citizens of countries like Japan and South Korea who have so much pride in the everyday work they do. No job is too lowly.

“Therefore, they depend little on foreign labour.”

Dr Mahathir said the RM6.5 billion allocation, facilitated by the Finance Ministry through the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), will see “active involvement and moral ownership” by the Education; Youth and Sports; Women, Family and Community Development; Home; and, Human Resources Ministries.

At the same event, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the funding for Malaysia@Work will create up to 350,000 jobs over the next five years.

He said the wage and hiring incentives under the programme will be credited directly into EPF accounts, offsetting the statutory contributions by employers and employees.

“Any excess wage incentive will be credited into a special account created by EPF that allows for flexible withdrawal… of any amount, whenever needed,” he said in his opening remarks.

He said the mechanism allows participants to save for retirement, and at the same time, grants them a higher disposable income. – Bernama, November 21, 2019.