Income supplement proposal within gov't's means - Guan Eng

The proposal to provide income supplement to fresh graduates is well within the means of the government, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

Speaking to reporters during a walkabout at the Elopura market in Sandakan this morning, Lim said he prefers to use that term, income supplement, instead of "salary subsidy", which was used in news reports yesterday.

Elaborating, Lim confirmed that his ministry submitted documents on the proposal to the cabinet on Wednesday.

"Since the papers are from the Finance Ministry, I think that it (the maths) has been worked out, and it is well within the means of the ministry, and the government.

"It is not a one-off initiative, but one that goes on for a certain period of time. Some have called it a salary subsidy, I prefer to use the term 'incentive to supplement income'," he said.

"This programme will not only create many jobs, but at the same time, will enable the recipients to equip themselves with skills and knowledge to compete in the job market," he added.

Lim refused to elaborate further pending final confirmation of the proposal from the prime minister.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad acknowledged that a proposal has been made to the cabinet on the possibility of introducing a salary subsidy for local youths, including fresh graduates.

The proposal is intended to address the issue of foreigners occupying certain jobs as locals are unwilling to take them up, in part due to the low salaries, Mahathir had said.

According to a Sin Chew Daily report yesterday, the RM6 billion allocation subsidy programme could see fresh graduates aged between 20 and 30 years old getting from RM700 to RM1,000 each. - Mkini