Time for a new equation, says Liew

The Star

Deputy Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Liew Chin Tong shared his thoughts regarding the country's economy and job market, emphasising the need for Malaysia to address pay disparity and improve economic conditions for everyone.  Read more at https://tinyurl.com/24pm6s2m  WATCH MORE: https://thestartv.com/c/news SUBSCRIBE: https://cutt.ly/TheStar LIKE: https://fb.com/TheStarOnline

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00:00During a recent visit to Manara Star, Deputy Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Liu

00:08Chintong met with the top management of Star Media Group and shared his thoughts regarding

00:13the country's economy and job market.

00:15Liu addressed the perception that Malaysians, especially youth, find jobs in the 3D, dirty,

00:22dangerous and difficult sectors unfavorable, and argued that the real issue is pay disparity,

00:29not the nature of the jobs.

00:59He also talked about his latest book entitled Second Takeoff, Strategies for Malaysia's

01:25economic resurgence, a collection of essays on economics, society and governance, which

01:31includes policy suggestions for Malaysia's development into a high-income nation.

01:37Liu emphasized the importance of reducing dependence on foreign workers.

01:41Nowadays, when you think about the major cities, Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bahru, if we cannot create

01:47jobs that pay more than what Grab is paying a driver, no Malaysians want to work in factories.

01:55But in order to create that virtuous cycle, we will need to reduce the number of foreign

02:01workers, we need to reduce the number of influx of foreign workers, we need to create a tighter

02:06labour market, and we need to encourage corporations to move up the technology ladder.

02:13He also addressed pay disparity to improve economic conditions for Malaysians, and highlighted

02:19the need for comprehensive policy reviews to ensure locals do not seek employment abroad

02:24in undesirable sectors.

02:26I don't think it's a question of mentality at all, it's a question of pay.

02:31Because the same people are doing 3D jobs in Singapore, the same group of Malaysians

02:38are doing 3D jobs in Singapore, in Australia, we must move away from a situation where Malaysia

02:47imports unskilled foreign labour and exports Malaysians to be illegal foreign workers.

02:53That equation has to be reworked, we have to work on that equation and find a balance.

02:59Elaborating on the issue of foreign worker reliance, Liu said the government should establish

03:04clear policies to gradually reduce the number of foreign workers over time.

03:08In the long run, we should be very clear to everyone, government policy should signal

03:17that we want to reduce the number of foreign workers, and give a timeframe with clear policies

03:26to indicate that at what point we want to reduce the number of foreign workers to what

03:31level.

03:32The Prime Minister has announced that the government is working on multi-tier levy.

03:39Multi-tier levy was first spoke about in the 11 Malaysia Plan, it was supposed to be introduced

03:45in 2016 and it has been dragged on for the longest of time.

03:50I hope this year, as the Prime Minister mentioned in the budget speech, and also as I understand

03:57there are already some work being done by various ministries in order to formulate

04:04a multi-tier levy.

04:06That means maybe it will start gradually, but annual increment to the extent that in

04:1210 years time, they know by now that in 10 years time they will have to pay a very expensive

04:18levy, more expensive than hiring local workers.

04:22He stressed that government and industry collaboration is essential for the gradual reduction of

04:26foreign workers.

04:28We do not want to introduce immediate shock, there is no point to introduce immediate shock

04:33to solve a 40 year problem, or at least 25 years problem.

04:38So if we can actually have that conversation and to find out the sweet spot as well as

04:43the equilibrium and move with a 10 year horizon, that should be the way to go.

04:50In tabling the 12 Malaysia Plan mid-term review in the Dewan Rakyat on September 11 last year,

04:56Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that the government would implement a multi-tiered

05:01levy system aimed at securing job opportunities for locals and promoting automation and mechanization

05:08while maintaining the policy of limiting foreign workers to 15% of the total workforce.

05:15He identified skills mismatch, low wages and slow productivity growth as key issues hindering

05:21Malaysia's transition to a high-income economy, noting that the government has introduced

05:27initiatives for a progressive wage model benefiting both workers and employers.

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