KUALA LUMPUR: A suggestion to compel the private sector to pay allowances to students undergoing industrial training will be brought to the Cabinet for discussion, says Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
There was a need, she said, to discuss with both the Higher Education Ministry and Human Resources Ministry on the pros and cons of implementing the proposal, which had been carried out in the public sector.
“Presently, it isn’t compulsory for private companies to pay allowances to students who are going through industrial training.
“But private companies are strongly urged to introduce such allowances,” said Yeoh during a press conference in Parliament.
The ministry, she said, was aware that such an implementation might not be suitable as many countries were still financially recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
She cited data showing that out of 81 students who applied for industrial training in her ministry in 2020, only 19 people were accepted due to financial limitations.
Yeoh said there were 85 applicants in 2021 for industrial training but due to financial constraints, only 47 people were accepted into her ministry.
Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who was present during the press conference, echoed Yeoh’s proposal.
“They are not coolies at work. It is already 2023 and it is important that the government sends a clear message that industrial trainees shouldn’t be exploited to work from morning till night, and even on their weekends, without receiving any payment,” he said.
During Syed Saddiq’s tenure as the Youth and Sports Minister in 2019, the government had raised the allowances of paid internship in each federal ministry, government agencies and departments from RM300 to RM900.
