Azrul says employment opportunities should be one of the areas the government should focus on in Budget 2023.
MALAYSIANS are hoping Budget 2023 will be people-centric and address uncertainties and challenges as the country slowly recovers from the Covid-19 pandemic.
They also want the government to continue focusing on developing and further strengthening the domestic economy.
Sales representative Tan Lay Mai said 2020 and 2021 were difficult years for most businesses due to the negative impact brought about by the global Covid-19 pandemic.
While she noted that the economy was slowly recovering, she lamented that cost of living was also going up at the same time due to escalating prices of essential items and she wanted the government to address this issue.
She urged both the Federal and Johor governments to do more to attract investors towards the creation of more job opportunities for locals.
“We have been receiving a lot of job advertisements from Singapore-based companies looking for Malaysians to work in the republic,” said Tan.
She said the job advertised were for F&B outlet positions, lorry and bus drivers and factory workers with a starting salary of S$1,500 (RM4,800).
Chinese school student Azrul Abdullah, 16, said employment opportunities should be one of the areas the government should focus on for next year’s budget.
“Competition in the job market is becoming more intense and school leavers and university graduates are facing challenges in getting hired,” he said.
Azrul said Malaysia needed to produce a higher skilled workforce if it wanted to attract high-tech investments.
He lauded the efforts taken by the government to encourage more students to enrol in technical or vocational courses.
Azrul, who has been helping out at his family’s stall, said he hoped his ability to speak Bahasa Malaysia, English and Mandarin would give him an advantage when applying for jobs.
“Malaysian students should be encouraged to learn a third or fourth language in school,” he said.
Senior manager Nithia Ponukon said the well-being of the rakyat should be prioritised in next year’s budget to cope with the global economic uncertainties caused by the pandemic and the on-going Ukraine-Russia war.
“At the same time, our politicians should stop bickering, put aside political differences and focus on the welfare of the people,” she said.
The 72-year-old Nithia said political stability was important if Malaysia wanted to continue attracting more investors or else the country would lose out to other countries in the region.
She said like other countries in the world, Malaysia was also facing economic challenges due to the pandemic.
“Malaysia should reduce its dependency on foreign workers and create more jobs for local job seekers,” Nithia added.
She also hoped more goodies would be in store for senior citizens in Budget 2023, especially in terms of healthcare for them.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz is expected to table Budget 2023 in Parliament on Oct 7, 2022.
Azrul says employment opportunities should be one of the areas the government should focus on in Budget 2023.
Tan says hopes the government addresses the hike in prices of essential items.
Nithia says the well-being of the rakyat should be prioritised in next year’s budget.
