TRADA urges Budget 2027 to prioritise better jobs, wages for Sabah and Sarawak youth

 

PERTUBUHAN Transformasi Dayak (TRADA) has urged the government to make Budget 2027 a decisive response to mounting cost-of-living pressures by prioritising higher-paying jobs, skills development and affordable housing, particularly for young Malaysians in Sabah and Sarawak.

TRADA president Joseph Ninting said the challenge was no longer simply about creating employment, but ensuring wages and opportunities kept pace with the rising cost of building a decent life.

A recent Institut Masa Depan Malaysia (MASA) survey found that 42% of Malaysians identified the cost of living as their biggest concern, more than three times the next most cited issue.

Bank Negara Malaysia data also showed prices rose 9.8% between the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2025, while private-sector wages grew by only 7.9%.

The pressure has been particularly acute for younger workers. Median pay for those aged 25 to 29 fell 5%, from RM2,206 in 2019 to RM2,095 in 2024, making them the only age group yet to recover to pre-pandemic income levels.

“These numbers point to a fundamental challenge. Malaysia does not simply need more jobs. We need better jobs, better wages and clearer pathways for young Malaysians to move up the economic ladder,” Joseph said.

He said Budget 2027 should shift its focus from job creation alone towards encouraging businesses, especially those investing in Sabah and Sarawak, to create higher-value careers in sectors such as artificial intelligence, digital services, advanced manufacturing, renewable energy, engineering and modern agriculture.

According to Joseph, government incentives should increasingly be tied to wages, local hiring, skills transfer and career progression rather than simply the number of jobs created.

“Sabah and Sarawak should not merely supply workers to the rest of Malaysia. We must create the conditions for young Sabahans and Sarawakians to build sophisticated, well-paid careers at home,” he stressed.

TRADA also called for expanded grants, scholarships and affordable soft loans to help young Malaysians reskill and upskill in areas including TVET, AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, automation and green technologies.

Joseph said micro-grants could support short professional certifications, while scholarships and low-interest financing should help young people pursue more substantial technical qualifications.

He also urged stronger collaboration between universities, polytechnics, TVET institutions and employers to make future-economy training more accessible.

Housing, he added, should form part of the government’s cost-of-living response. Building on initiatives introduced by previous administrations, TRADA proposed a stronger Youth First Home approach combining affordable housing, rent-to-own schemes, financing guarantees and assistance with upfront homeownership costs.

The organisation pointed to programmes such as Skim Rumah Pertamaku, PR1MA and MyDeposit as examples that could be strengthened to improve homeownership opportunities for first-time buyers.

While acknowledging that targeted subsidies and financial assistance remain important, Joseph said they should not become the long-term solution to Malaysia’s cost-of-living challenge.

He noted that everyday expenses continued to outpace general inflation, with reports showing nasi lemak prices rose 81.3% and chicken satay prices 113.7% between 2011 and 2024, compared with overall inflation of 28.7%.

“Our young people are not asking the government to solve every problem for them. They want the skills to compete, access to capital, jobs that pay meaningful wages and a realistic chance of owning a home,” Joseph said.

“Budget 2027 should give young Malaysians that fighting chance, not merely to cope with the cost of living, but to move forward, prosper and build their future here.” ‒  Focus Malaysia