Selangor Youth Council suggests job incentives for local youths

SHAH ALAM: Local young people may choose to work in sectors that are being employed with foreign workers if given higher incentives.
The Selangor Youth Council will engage with Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) to open up opportunities for young people in the skilled sectors.
President Datuk Irmohizam Ibrahim, who is also Kuala Selangor MP, said it is the government's responsibility to ensure that private sector employers give local youths more preferences instead of hiring foreign workers with lower wages.
"One of the challenges that we are trying to overcome is on the incentives that the employers can give to Malaysian workers to work in this area.
"Maybe from whatever profit that the employers get from employing foreign workers, they can provide technical education or skills to young Malaysians," he said after its 32nd annual assembly here today.
He said the council will have a social media engagement with young people in Selangor to get started about employment opportunities in these sectors.
Irmohizam said it will try to work with FMM to create a campaign to enable youths to see in which area they have interest and can work in.
Earlier during the opening of the assembly, the young people were thrown with the challenge to work in the manufacturing, services, construction and agriculture sectors that are employing foreign workers.
Later when met, the youths voiced a mixed view about accepting Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's challenge to take up jobs that are filled by the foreign workers.
Although they unanimously agreed that the government should not bring in more foreign workers, they are hesitant when it comes to counter-action.
Mohd Izzat Mohd Osman, 18, from Gombak, said that it will not be easy for the young people to accept the challenge and work in these sectors.
"Today many young people want big and good jobs. Very few of them would choose to clean drains and sweep the roads.
"I would not do them," he said, adding that he did not agree when Ahmad Zahid threw questions earlier.
Nur Syalwani Kasrun, 18, from Klang, however said she does not mind working in factories and progress to other job opportunities when it comes.
"I am waiting for SPM results now and looking for a job temporarily. I did check at some factories for a job but they are all full because foreign workers have been hired to fill all the jobs," she said.
Asked whether she agrees to the government bringing in 1.5 million Bangladeshi workers, Nur Syalwani said no.
"It already over-populated now; if they bring in more it would seem like there are more foreigners than Malaysians," she said.
Nur Syalwani said she does not mind working in the dirty, difficult and dangerous sectors as long as there are good benefits and worth the effort.
Mohd Amiruddin Latifuddin, 17, from Klang, said if foreign workers are sent back the local employers will be forced to hire locals and vice-versa as these sectors need to be filled.
He said if the government want local people to replace the foreign workers in these sectors then they should ensure that the pay is higher.