PETALING JAYA: Young Malaysians are calling for more support of entrepreneurship and higher wages to cope with the rising cost of living, ahead of the tabling of Budget 2025.
University student V. Lirhoshini, 24, asked for more attention to be paid to helping youth entrepreneurs foster their skills.
“Many young Malaysians are interested in starting their own business, but often lack the capital or support to do so.
“Offering grants, low-interest loans or tax breaks for young entrepreneurs could inspire innovation and contribute to the economy’s long-term growth,” said the final year student, who also does freelance designing jobs.
She also called for higher entry-level salaries to reflect the increased cost of living, proposing that the minimum wage be raised to at least RM2,000 monthly.
“The current national minimum wage of RM1,500 is still insufficient, especially for those living in cities.
“Higher wages would help ease the financial pressure and allow young Malaysians to build their lives without struggling from the very start,” she added.
Executive Nufus Sulaiman, 25, called for the upcoming Budget 2025 to provide “fishing rods” rather than just handouts.
“Subsidies or cash handouts might be attractive to most people, but some would prefer a conducive platform that allows them to strive economically, such as in entrepreneurship.
“Many of my peers struggle with securing grants as they need to compete with those who have more experience.
“The government should look into programmes that can nurture young entrepreneurs,” said Nufus, who recently graduated.
Marketing executive Susan Yong, 29, expressed hope that the upcoming federal budget would provide more relief for middle-income earners dealing with rising living costs, such as through increased income tax relief.
She also highlighted the importance of giving the Health Ministry the biggest allocation to sustain its operations.
“With private healthcare services getting more expensive, fees would seem unaffordable to most people in the middle-income bracket,” she said.
Corporate trainer Jagjit Singh, 30, emphasised the need for more allocations for upskilling programmes to prepare the workforce for future market demands.
“The Prime Minister has announced various investments in recent months and our labour force needs to be ready for them.
“There is a strong focus on technical and vocational education by the government, but we should strive to create a workforce with not only technical abilities but also critical thinking skills to solve issues,” he said.
Federation of Malaysian Consumers Association (Fomca) chief executive officer Dr Saravanan Thambirajah said it was important to strengthen price control and monitoring mechanisms in the Budget.
“Transparent price ceilings, backed by strong enforcement, can protect consumers from unjustified price increases,” he said.
He added that targeted subsidies and direct cash assistance for everyday expenses could help mitigate the rising cost of living.
“The Padu (Central Database Hub) system aims to ensure that subsidies are efficiently directed towards low and middle-income households.
“A clear implementation strategy should be communicated by the government, detailing beneficiary selection criteria, distribution mechanisms and monitoring processes to ensure transparency and effective delivery of assistance,” he said.
Budget 2025 is expected to be tabled in the upcoming Dewan Rakyat meeting on Oct 18.
