Tag: unemployment

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Kadar Jenayah Semakin Berkurangan

Kadar jenayah menurun di antara 1 Januari 2020 hingga 15 November 2020

Umum risau setiap hari semakin ramai pekerja yang terpaksa diberhentikan sama ada akibat penutupan tempat kerja ataupun tindakan majikan mengurangkan jumlah pekerja demi menyelamatkan perniagaan mereka.

Di era pandemik COVID-19, kita dapat melihat fenomena yang sama berlaku di seluruh dunia. Berjuta orang yang telah hilang pekerjaan.

Turut dirisaukan juga adalah kemungkinan meningkatnya kadar jenayah berikutan penambahan jumlah penganggur yang mendadak. Hakikatnya, kadar jenayah adalah semakin menurun.

Kadar pengangguran terkini setakat suku ketga tahun ini ialah 4.6 peratus dari jumlah pekerja. Menurut Jabatan Perangkaan Malaysia, jumlah pekerjaan dalam sektor swasta menurun sebanyak 181,000 menjadikan jumlah pekerjaan sektor swata sebanyak 8.47 juta berbanding suku ketiga 2019. Dari angka tersebut, 97.9 peratus jawatan telah diisi manakala 2.1 peratus masih kosong.

Ini bermakna, masih terdapat 179,000 kekosongan jawatan untuk pekerjaan separa-mahir manakala 21,000 pekerjaan baharu telah wujud untuk pekerja tanpa kemahiran. 100,000 kekosongan masih ada dalam sektor perkilangan.

Apa yang diperlukan hanyalah kesanggupan rakyat Malaysia yang telah kehilangan pekerjaan untuk mengkalibrasikan kemahiran mereka untuk menceburi bidang baharu.

Apa yang dapat kita lihat sejak bermulanya PKP pada 18 Mac 2020 ialah betapa ramainya para pekerja berkemahiran tinggi yang telah menyesuaikan diri dengan menjalankan perniagaan dan pekerjaan baharu seperti menjadi rider penghantar, taukeh tauhu bergedil yang berniaga dari rumah, dan menjalankan perniagaan detailing kereta dari rumah ke rumah.

Pengarah Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah PDRM dalam satu kenyataan mengenai penularan trend jenayah ragut berkata kes jenayah yang dilaporkan bagi tempoh dari 1 Januari 2020 hingga 15 November 2020 ialah sebanyak 56,117 kes berbanding 72,836 kes dalam tempoh yang sama tahun lepas. Ini bermakna jumlah keseluruhan kes jenayah telah menurun sebanyak 16,719 kes atau 23 peratus.

Bagi jenayah ragut pula, sebanyak 1,160 kes telah dilaporkan dalam tempoh yang sama berbanding 2,216 kes dalam tempoh yang sama tahun lepas. Ini menunjukkan penurunan sebanyak 1,056 kes atau 47.65 peratus berbanding tahun lepas.

Sama ada ianya berhubung kait dengan penurunan kadar jenayah secara langsung ataupun tidak, Jabatan Imigresen Malaysia (JIM) tahun ini setakat 2 November 2020 telah membuat pengusiran terkumpul Pendatang Asing Tanpa Izin (PATI) seramai 30,452 orang.

Tahun lepas sahaja telah menyaksikan seramai 192,260 orang PATI yang telah tampil untuk menyertai program ‘Back For Good.’ Jumlah kompaun yang telah diperolehi kerajaan ialah sebanyak RM134.6 juta.

Kerajaan, melalui inisiatif Rekalibrasi Pulang yang diumumkan oleh YB Menteri Dalam Negeri baru-baru ini, lebih ramai PATI dijangka akan tampil kehadapan untuk pulang ke negara asal mereka. Lebih baik juga bagi mereka kerana mereka akan menjalani saringan COVID-19 terlebih dahulu. Ini sekaligus menangkis tanggapan bahawa kerajaan tidak prihatin terhadap PATI yang dicanang oleh pihak-pihak tidak bertanggung jawab.

Inisiatif-inisiatif lain seperti Ops Benteng, Ops Kuda Laut dan lain-lain juga telah banyak membantu. Sebagai contoh, bagi tempoh 1 Januari 2020 hingga 21 Ogos 2020, Agensi Penguatkuasaan Maritim Malaysia (APMM) telah membuat sebanyak 127,930 pemeriksaan, 18,731 penggeledehan dan 565 tangkapan. Bagi tempoh tersebut, hasil denda, lelong dan nilaian kompaun adalah sebanyak RM11.12 juta.

Kita tidaklah mengatakan bahawa rakyat Malaysia langsung tidak terlibat dalam perbuatan jenayah ataupun menyalahkan PATI semata-mata di atas jenayah-jenayah yang telah berlaku, tetapi kita harus berfikir secara rasional dan melihat ‘the big picture’ sebelum membuat sebarang andaian.

Berlaku adillah terhadap barisan hadapan kita yang bukan sahaja bersengkang mata untuk menjaga keselamatan kita, tetapi juga terdedah kepada bahaya seperti virus COVID-19 semasa menjalankan tugas. Janganlah kerana satu kes maka diperbesarkan seolah-olah negara ini tidak lagi selamat untuk didiami.

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Black Shoes and Tears Alone Will Not Help Graduates Employability

How is the graduates employability rate like in Malaysia? (photo courtesy of says.com

In a WhatsApp group discussion yesterday, someone made a comment on how difficult it is for fresh graduates to find a job now.  While the usual nonsensical prerequisites are applied (e.g. fresh graduates are encouraged to apply, with minimum 3-year work experience), the current Malaysian economic climate does not allow for the creation of meaningful jobs.

In a report published in March of this year, Bank Negara Malaysia said that between 2010 and 2017, an average of 173,457 diploma and degree graduates entered the workforce annually over that period while only an average of 98,514 high-skilled jobs were created.  Therefore, we ended up with having 599,544 jobless graduates over an 8-year period – those who cannot find high-skilled jobs.

Without looking at the big picture, they swallowed hook, line and sinker Pakatan Harapan’s promise to provide 1 million jobs in over 5 years. It is of no surprise that first-time voters kicked out the Barisan Nasional for failing to assist them adequately.  This situation is not showing any sign of improvement.

In a statistics released on 1 March 2019, the Department of Statistics Malaysia reported that there were only 198,000 job vacancies in 2018 compared to 206,000 in 2017 and only 101,000 jobs created in 2018 compared to 157,000 in 2017. Only 27,000 new jobs have been created in Q2 2019 of which 55.3 percent are for semi-skilled workers (48.5 percent) and low-skilled workers (6.8 percent). At this rate if everything else remains status quo, only half a million jobs would be created till the next general elections – half of what was promised to the voters in 2018.

Whether or not the graduates possess the right skill-set is another matter.  Employers often lament about the lack of quality of graduates being produced: poor social skills, lack of sense of responsibility, unwilling to work extra hours.

More jobs will be lost now that the era of Industry 4.0 is here.  We are already seeing over-the-counter services being taken over by automation.  We already have self-order kiosks at MacDonald’s, online banking causing banks to consolidate branches making tellers more and more redundant.  In Singapore, robots have taken over the job of mortals delivering room service to hotel customers.

Self-driving vehicles will see the demise of jobs such as taxi, limousine and lorry drivers.  No traffic policemen will be needed as autonomous vehicles will abide by traffic rules. Local municipalities will not have traffic wardens while robots with artificial intelligence will service these vehicles at service centres instead of by human beings. Self-driving tractors and harvesters will help manage paddy fields better and more efficiently while drones will help plant seedlings and spray fertiliser and insecticide without having to employ and pay tens of workers to do the same jobs.

With automation becoming more and more affordable, menial jobs will soon be unavailable to our children and grandchildren.  This will leave the underprivileged children in suburban and rural areas at risk of being unemployed. Robots do not need annual leave, maternity leave, sick leave and nor do they have moods to set their daily levels of productivity.

All the above will create social time-bombs that will explode from time-to-time, especially during general elections if not handled carefully, no matter who administers the government.

Therefore, it is imperative to look beyond black school shoes, crying and balanced breakfast meals to prepare the future generation for a future with far less jobs.  I stand corrected but not one education roadmap has been produced to create a path on which the Ministry of Education can properly plan its policies. This needs to be discussed with the relevant ministries and industry players to create the optimal environment in which the right jobs can be created for the right skills set. Otherwise, be prepared for frequent demonstrations, change of governments, and increase in crime rates.