SINGAPORE – Malaysia’s underemployment problem has received scant attention and needs long-term solutions, UK Chevening alumnus Zaim Mohzani said.
The KSI Strategic Institute for Asia Pacific external relations director said his life mission is to address the country’s underemployment – a situation where people with higher skills are working in low-wage or part-time jobs because they cannot find employment befitting their qualifications.
Referring to recent Occupational Safety and Health Department statistics, the 32-year-old noted that the nation’s unemployment rate was at a low of only 3.6%, equivalent to 600,000 people, as of October 2022.
However, underemployment affects a “horrifying” 2.4 million people and requires long-term solutions that can match young talent with jobs matching their capabilities, the Master of International Relations graduate from the London School of Economics said.
Battling the country’s underemployment issue has been one of Zaim’s main agendas after returning to Malaysia from the United Kingdom in 2020.
The former government employee told The Vibes that after living and studying in the UK, he has become interested in working alongside civil society groups to champion better policies for all Malaysians.
He said there were ways in which Malaysia can replicate the UK’s Fair Work policy, which has had some success in providing training and employment for young graduates there.
“There are too many people that are underemployed (in Malaysia), and the government has not done enough (to address it). We have too many short-term policies like MyStep and JaminKerja,” remarked Zaim, who is also the co-founder of a social impact group called the Nation Building School.
We need to find long-term solutions to address the country’s massive underemployment, which people are not talking about. Unfortunately, Malaysia has a lot of politicking, but not enough policy-making.
Zaim was speaking on the sidelines at the recent launch of the British Council’s new Alumni UK portal in Singapore, where he was one of three UK Chevening scholars who were honoured at the event.
The launch of Alumni UK was also held in conjunction with the British Council’s Going Global Asia Pacific 2022 conference at the Marina Bay Sands.
Having spent most of his career in the public sector on policy matters, Zaim has also established three non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that have reached more than 30,000 youths in the country over the past decade.
Zaim told The Vibes that his experience as a student in the UK had opened his eyes to policy-making as a nation-building process.
“The UK helped me understand that policy is important when you want to make a difference,” he said while adding that shaping policies did not necessarily mean he had political ambitions.
Asked whether he sees himself as a parliamentarian in the future, Zaim said “absolutely not”.
“Some people are in Parliament, and they can do it. Others are outside pressuring the government to do the right thing. I am the one on the outside,” he said.
“You need people like the MPs, and then you need people like us (NGOs). Not everyone can be in Parliament as there are only 222 seats.
If people tell you that politics is the only way to change the country, it is not true.
Leveraging Alumni UK portal
Meanwhile, British Council Malaysia country director Jazreel Goh said the council, which will celebrate its 75th anniversary of being in the country next year, has helped cement a long relationship between both countries which has developed into various economic exchanges.
She said the relationship is now even more important than ever as the world faces greater geopolitical tensions amid rising suspicions between nations.
With the upcoming anniversary celebrations on the cards, Jazreel said the council hopes to leverage the newly-launched Alumni UK platform to allow Malaysia’s UK graduates to reconnect with each other.
“They can look at whether there are opportunities to network or do business, or even just have discussions with like-minded people,” she told The Vibes when met at the Going Global Asia Pacific 2022 conference.
“(It’s) also for Malaysian employers, who are tapping into talent. There’s a talent pool here with a great network of people.
“So we’re hoping that through this digital platform, we can bring in employers who are looking to recruit and are searching for a specific talent.” – The Vibes, December 15, 2022
_and_British_Council_Malaysia_director_J.jpg)
