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PETALING JAYA – Kitakerja.my is a social initiative focusing on matching Malaysian jobseekers in the Bottom-40 (B40) income bracket to domestic employers.
It is calling for more Malaysians to join hands in building an ecosystem of jobseekers and employers while at the same time assisting in the economic recovery one job at a time.
Kitakerja.my is the brainchild of two young Malaysians. They have pooled their resources together to help fellow Malaysians in the B40 bracket who lost their jobs.
Kitakerja.my co-founder Choong En Han said: “Over the past 18 months, our whole nation has been focused on two numbers – Covid-19 new cases and death rates. But there is another number that has slipped into our lives without many people realising it, and that is the nation’s unemployment rate.”
There are more than 770,000 unemployed Malaysians in the country according to the Department of Statistics June 2021 report. It was also reported that about 100,000 Malaysians lost their jobs last year due to the pandemic, according to former Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan in a report dated December 9, 2020.
“We started kitakerja.my to give unemployed Malaysians primarily in the B40 income bracket a platform in which they can be matched to jobs offered by employers. Jobs have become scarcer given all the lockdowns we have endured since March last year.
"Together with employers and jobseekers, we can assist each other while in our own way, help the economy to recover and progress, one job at a time,” Choong explained.
“We have seen firsthand how severely businesses have been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Retrenching employees is always the last resort for any business. We want to do our part in helping Malaysians affected by the pandemic to rebuild their lives, particularly those in the B40 group who are most vulnerable to financial shocks.”
Choong added: “We need to act now and be a part of the solution and be the movement for a better Malaysia, otherwise, Malaysian household income levels will continue to deteriorate.”
Mohd Nizam Abdul Rahim, fellow co-founder who mooted the initiative with Choong, said: “Our resources are limited and we really need the help of fellow Malaysians who have the skills to help us build, promote and develop this initiative.
"Currently, kitakerja.my is matching jobseekers and employers manually but we are seeking solutions to automate the process.”
“We are inviting tech-based experts, trainers and Malaysians in general to become a part of this movement. If you have the skills and ideas to make kitakerja.my a better platform to help Malaysians in need, please talk to us.
"Your contribution can also be as simple as sharing our website kitakerja.my or message via WhatsApp to keep the conversation going.”
“Many are suffering silently, but it should not be this way. Malaysians should come together this time to rebuild the nation as we celebrate the country’s 64th National Day. Hopefully, employers that are hiring could give our fellow Malaysians a chance in getting employed.
"With jobseekers being employed, the multiplier effect of increased private consumption would be kickstarted and ultimately everyone wins in the country,” Nizam said.
Apart from matchings for B40 jobseekers, kitakerja.my also has plans to make them more employable through training and development programmes in which vocational skills will be emphasised.
Kitakerja.my is a nation-building and social initiative by Malaysians for Malaysians. It aims to eventually be a social enterprise. Choong and Nizam are open to discussing possibilities that can help B40 jobseekers upskill or reskill. – The Vibes, August 25, 2021
