August 23, 2008 23:05 PM

Dr Subramaniam Denies Malaysia Facing Employment Crisis

BUTTERWORTH, Aug 23 (Bernama) -- Human Resource Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam has denied an allegation by the opposition that the country would face an employment crisis due to the closure of many factories.

He said there were huge employment opportunities for the people.

"For example, in Penang, there are 37,000 job vacancies between January and June, and with the arrival of investors into the country during the same period, another 43,000 posts will be created," he told reporters after opening an employment carnival at the Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil Mak Mandin here.

He was reacting to a claim by the opposition that 800,000 people would be out of job until 2009 due to many factories closing their operations in the country.

On the claim of factories closing their operations, Subramaniam said the ministry had its own mechanism of monitoring the factories.

"We have their records. If there are signs of the companies wanting to close their operations, we will take immediate action to protect the interest of the workers, like finding new jobs for them," he added.

He said the ministry had also introduced a special programme aimed at addressing unemployment among graduates.

"The ministry has also formed a wage council for the textile and electronics sectors to formulate a reasonable salary for workers in both sectors," he added.



-- BERNAMA

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