PETALING JAYA: Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has defended a proposal to allow foreign graduates to fill job opportunities here, saying this would merely be a short-term solution to the current shortage of skilled workers in certain sectors.
Tengku Zafrul said manufacturers cannot wait for years before Malaysia produces such skilled workers as they are needed now, Bernama reported.
“Investors cannot wait four more years. For example, the electrical and electronics industry needs 50,000 engineers. Our higher education institutions only produce 5,000 (engineering) graduates a year for now. So, it will take time to meet industry demand.
“If investors want graduates in artificial intelligence, for example, we cannot provide them with political science graduates,” he said. Foreign graduates are a good choice because they understand Malaysia’s work culture.
“Local higher education institutions can be empowered in the international arena and our local graduates will be given opportunities when they are ready,” he said.
Tengku Zafrul also said the proposal would boost the revenue generated by the education sector, pointing out that foreign students in Malaysia spend an estimated RM7.3 billion a year.
He maintained that his ministry is working closely with other ministries to increase the number of skilled workers in high-technology sectors.
Tengku Zafrul previously said Putrajaya was looking into the possibility of allowing foreign graduates here to pursue employment opportunities.
This was met with opposition by Cuepacs, which said allowing foreign graduates to take local high-technology sector jobs would be a step backward when Putrajaya has invested significantly in producing highly skilled local graduates.
He also feared that such a move may result in local graduates receiving lower salaries and the unemployment rate increasing in the future. - FMT
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