Siringan (left) receiving a memento from Kamal while the other JTK senior officials look on.
KOTA KINABALU: The Resource Development and Information Technology Ministry and Federal Labour Department (JTK) will continue to work together to provide job opportunities to the locals in Sabah.
“This is part of the continuous effort to reduce the State’s unemployment rate,” said its minister Datuk Siringan Gubat after he was briefed by JTK Sabah director Kamal Pardi who led the department’s senior officials in paying a courtesy visit to his office at Wisma Bandaraya here recently.
The JTK statistics showed Sabah’s unemployment rate currently stood at 4.7 per cent compared to 5.1 percent previously, 3.8 percent for Sarawak and 2.1 percent for Peninsular Malaysia. The percentage was based on the number of registered jobless persons.
Siringan was pleased to note that JTK Sabah had set a goal to provide up to 14,000 job opportunities in the private sector and outside the State for Sabahans who are looking for job this year.
The department strives to get these openings readily available during its Job Carnival which will be held at selected districts in the State beginning May 1, in conjunction with its annual Job Tour programme.
Last year’s carnival saw 2,581 jobless locals here and at five districts secure job placements in various fields, within five days. The carnival recorded a total of 11,656 visitors at its six venues and participation of 114 employers from within and outside Sabah, offering 4,896 job opportunities.
Siringan said the carnival would be held in Kota Kinabalu, Keningau, Tawau, Semporna, Lahad Datu and Sandakan.
“JTK Sabah’s commitment augurs well with the state government’s continuous effort to provide more job opportunities for Sabahans and reduce further the unemployment rate in Sabah.
“This surely complements the continuous effort of my ministry through its relevant departments and agencies like the Human Resource Development Department and Sabah Job Centre, which also implement similar programs.
“I hope our local people who are still looking for a job will not miss the opportunities provided by the government,” said Siringan.
In this regard, the minister advised job seeks not to be too picky and instead just take the best offer they can get.
“It is common for any employed person to start from the bottom if they do not have any working experience, but I am very sure that you would go up the ladder fast if you work hard. People should not worry about the salary becuase it will be based on the rate set under the minimum wage policy, even for the plantation sector,” he said.
Siringan was also happy to know from JTK Sabah that there are plantations in Sabah like the Felda Sahabat in Lahad Datu which are paying their workers salary based on the RM900 minimum wage set for the peninsula, and not according to the RM800 set for Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan.
Hoping that the rest of the plantations would emulate such a good move, he said by doing so definitely would be able to encourage more locals to work in the plantation and agriculture sectors, thus reducing these sectors’ over-dependency on foreign workers.
During the meet, Kamal also briefed Siringan on other matters related to JTK.