Retrain workers instead of paying wage subsidies, says Najib

 

Some companies have experienced a 30% drop in sales or more, says the former prime minister.

PETALING JAYA: Instead of continuing to pay wage subsidies, the federal government should encourage workers to improve their skills or learn new skills in case companies close down because of poor business conditions, former prime minister Najib Razak said today.

He said the skills enhancement scheme could be financed through low-interest loans provided to workers, or through subsidies from the Human Resources Development Fund.

“Unemployed tourist guides can take foreign language courses so that they are more valuable after the tourism industry recovers,” he said.

“Hotel staff can take soft-skill courses to upgrade their services. Sales staff can be trained in strategic selling or international marketing so that they can make better sales in the future.

“And some will use this opportunity to take up skills that will allow them to enter emerging sectors, for example into IT (information technology), app development and online sales.”

Najib said the retraining scheme would be better for the country’s future “rather than continuing to pay subsidies for the salaries of workers who sit at home or do nothing while working”.

He questioned how much longer the government could afford to pay wage subsidies, as certain business sectors would take a long time to recover from Covid-19 restrictions.

Najib’s remarks came in the wake of a joint statement by Pakatan Harapan and its allies calling for the wage subsidy scheme to be extended from three months to six months.

He said the opposition would need to support an increase in the national debt level from the current 60% to 65% of gross domestic product.

He questioned the government’s ability to sustain wage subsidies, as the national debt had reached RM900 billion and would be RM1 trillion by the end of this year or next year.

Najib said business was slow in a weak economy amid declines in foreign investment and some companies had experienced a 30% drop in sales or more. Certain sectors such as tourism, hospitality and aviation will take much longer to recover, perhaps as long as four years.

“Wage subsidies for six months may not be enough. What will happen to them after the scheme ends? Will the government extend it for four years so that employers continue to pay unnecessary employee salaries?”

He said the Covid-19 crisis should be viewed as an opportunity to enhance Malaysia’s competitiveness and invest in the skills and productivity of the workforce so that the economy is better prepared for the future. - FMT