The DAP Policy Forum and Task Force on Jobs and Labour Policy recently organised a briefing for DAP Members of Parliament and State Assembly Persons and Party leaders titled ‘Jobs & Labour Agenda for A Rejuvenated Malaysia’.
The briefing identified that Malaysia’s labour market is experiencing short-term external supply shocks due to Covid-19 and the government’s suppressive measures in handling the pandemic, as well as longer-term structural issues such as low levels of wages, productivity and social security coverage.
In the near term, businesses have cited shortages of foreign workers as a grave issue that has led to constraints in output. This has been attributed to a few reasons mainly the freeze on foreign worker arrivals and the emergence of multiple workplace Covid-19 clusters due to unsanitary housing and transportation.
On the other hand, the pandemic and related movement restrictions have also left Malaysian jobs at stake. For a more holistic view on the state of employment, there is a need to look beyond the unemployment rate which stood at 4.8% in Dec 2020. Metrics such as underemployment figures, total labour force and labour force participation rate, wage cuts, employees furloughed, increase in unpaid leave, Voluntary Separation Schemes, temporary leave, and income reduction among self employed and informal workers should also be taken into consideration.
Building Back Better for Post-Covid Recovery
Taking into account the inherent issues in our system, we will be looking into three focus areas with the aim of uplifting Malaysian livelihoods – explore new growth areas for the economy to achieve higher and cleaner economic growth, ensuring quality jobs with decent pay for Malaysians, and increasing coverage and support to build a stronger social safety net for the people.
In the aspect of new growth sectors, investment in clean energy solutions and industries could potentially create safe, sustainable, and long-term jobs for Malaysians. Concurrently, a paradigm shift in the agricultural sector involving mindset shifts, crop diversification and digital adoption could increase its productivity and value-add to the economy.
Moving forward, we will continue to embark on more engagements with stakeholders across sectors at different levels and industry experts to formulate policies and measures that will help achieve economic security and prosperity for all.