Subsidized work attachment for graduates proposed

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Masidi (sixth left), Gan (fifth left), Ling (seventh right) and others in a group photo at the courtesy call.

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun has suggested that the government subsidize a six-month work attachment for Form Five graduates, who are not furthering their studies upon completing their secondary school education, as an alternative to National Service.

Under the work attachment programme, Masidi said employers could pay half of the salary while the government pay the remaining half to the Form Five graduates.

He said this would not only allow the Form Five graduates to gain work experience, but also solve the human resource issue here.

“If you are not in university studying, you must be working,” Masidi said as he explained his suggestion.

Masidi pointed out the problem with the locals here was their attitude towards work and their tendency to be choosy about their jobs.

“A lot of locals say they are waiting for the right job upon graduation. The right job is when you start working,” he stressed.

Masidi said this when meeting Sabah United Chinese Chambers of Commerce (SUCCC) delegates headed by its president, Datuk Seri Panglima Gan Sau Wah, here yesterday. The purpose of the visit was to invite the ministry to participate in the fourth Borneo International Trade Fair (BITF) 2013 from November 28 to December 1 this year.

BITF 2013 is organized by SUCCC in collaboration with the Kadazandusun Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and Sabah Bumiputra Chamber of Commerce (SBCC) this year, with the State Government as the sponsor.

Masidi added that there were more than 300,000 legal foreign workers in Sabah, but Sabahans still complained they could not find a job here.

He added that 80 per cent of plantation workers are Indonesians, who are earning RM1,700 a month while accommodation, water and electricity were provided for them.

The diving industry, on the other hand, also faced a lack of dive masters who could converse in Mandarin as only a few existing dive masters wanted to learn the language or work on an island.

As for the tourism industry, there were only two Sabahan tour guides who could speak Korean.

He said employers prefer employing locals as they need not pay levy for foreign workers.

Masidi jokingly said even if the president of the United States, Barack Obama, was elected as the Chief Minister of Sabah he would not solve the issue as the crux of the problem was the people’s attitude.

“Our problem is not political, but attitude (of locals),” he stressed.

He added attitude was something the people had to change, rather than something the elected government could do.

Hence, he suggested putting Form Five graduates, who are not pursuing a tertiary education, through a six-month work attachment programme partially subsidized by the government to get them to work.

Speaking on the tourism industry, Masidi said Chinese tourists arrival to Sabah had increased by 88 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to the corresponding months the year before.

He further said that there have been more than 60 chartered flights from China to Sabah since January this year.

On BITF 2013, Masidi said the ministry had been participating in the event annually and promised to take up four booths in the upcoming exhibition.

The minister also vowed to encourage other government departments and agencies under his ministry, as well as travel industry players to participate in the event.

Present at the meeting were SUCCC secretary-general cum BITF 2013 organizing chairman Datuk Ling Tiong Chai, and other SUCCC members.