Chariots Of Fire

                            Chariots Of Fire

Kuala Lumpur Dec 10 2021

“I will have a discussion with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob tomorrow.

“Don’t worry. There will definitely be a solution to this.”

These are the words of the current Human Resources Minister M Saravanan on the move by the government to place restrictions on celebrating Thaipusam on January 18 next year.

He compared the restrictions to the thousands of people who gathered at the KLCC Convention Centre to attend the government-organised “100 Days Keluarga Malaysia Aspiration” event recently.

“This (KLCC event) was held on a large scale and the turnout was even bigger than expected. There was no physical distancing. People packed the hall and were standing in close proximity,” he was reported saying.

Speaking about large numbers and while it is very commendable for Saravanan to face Ismail Sabri on the Thaipusam issue, the Human Resources Minister must also be aware of the actual number of Malaysians who are jobless right now.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Malaysia's unemployment stood at 4.3 per cent with 705,000 unemployed persons in October.

However, everyone that A.com has spoken to believe that this figure is double the amount, at the very least.

The DOSM statistics also does not reveal all sectors that are affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

At least 80 per cent of the jobs in the Perkeso Job Search programme introduced by the Human Resources Ministry are in the manufacturing or industrial sector.

Jobs such as boiler, draughtsman, technicians and maintenance make up the majority of employment on offer.

Does the Malaysian government not know or understand that a large number of Malaysians who lost their jobs are white and pink collar workers?

White collar workers are people who do professional, desk, management or administrative work.

They cover government-related career paths, media, consulting firms, academics, accounting, business and executive management, management consulting, consumer support, market research, finance, human resources, research operations, marketing, information technology, networking, lawyers, medical professionals, architects, research and development and contracting.

The pink-collar workers, on the other hand, are the workforce related to customer interaction, entertainment, sales, or other service -oriented work.

Many jobs combine white and pink collar (services) industry categorisations.

Since Saravanan will be meeting the PM, he can suggest proper solutions that can help all those struggling with unemployment and end their worries.

The Human Resources Minister can propose to the government absorb all those jobless into the relevant Ministries and give them contract work, temporary or half  day jobs according to experience, qualifications and abilities.

Those who are jobless will be ever so grateful to the government if it can end their predicament soon, regardless of whatever celebration in the New Year.