Young voters want unemployment problem to be looked into in Tampin

TAMPIN, Nov 13 (Bernama) -- Since employment opportunities are scarce in Tampin district, Mohamad Kamil Adam Wahabi, 30, chose to become a farmer since 2017, cultivating the 2.2 hectares of padi field belonging to his family  in Kampung Londah, Gemas.

Despite holding a Bachelor of Arts and Social Sciences degree in History, Mohamad Kamil decided to go into farming to support his ailing parents and after realising that only 10 out of 50 padi farmers in the area are young people.

Mohamad Kamil, who earns about RM8,000 per season, believes that if the authorities are serious about expanding the agricultural sector in the district, a majority of the local youths would choose to be self-employed which would help strengthen the local economy.

"Generally,  the young people in Tampin study up to Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and Diploma levels. Those with degree qualification will migrate to urban areas to seek employment because they are not able to get jobs with a decent salary here," he told Bernama. 

Meanwhile, Nuramirul Hidayat Nazry, 28, who is from Felda Pasir Besar third generation, said that after gaining two years experience as a finance executive in Port Klang, he returned to start his business here.

"Job opportunities are limited and salaries are insufficient here, so I make use of the experience gained to venture into business, but those who have no experience are struggling to make a living, said Nuramirul who is in transportation and farming business.

A local resident who wants to be known as Mohd Fauzi, 39, said the government must address the problem of unemployment immediately because most of the jobs available in the district are in the retail sector and they are poorly paid.

"There are so few employment opportunities in Tampin and civil service jobs are limited. The usual jobs available are at small grocery stores, restaurants and supermarkets. There are no other jobs with better pay, so how do you expect us young people to survive," he said while hoping that the future elected representative would solve the problem of unemployment.

He added that with a small income, it was also difficult for young people to own a house as most of the 22x70 houses in Tampin are priced between RM250,000 and RM300,000 compared to RM200,000 in Alor Gajah, Melaka.

Realising the dilemma faced by young people here, Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Tampin parliamentary seat, Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa, who is Gemencheh assemblyman, said if elected, the problem of unemployment would be one of the areas he would be focusing on.

In order to boost the economic sector, he said the industrial sector needs to be expanded and other alternatives must be provided to produce more young entrepreneurs in the agricultural sector.

In the upcoming 15th general election (GE15) the Tampin parliamentary constituency will see a four-cornered fight between BN, Abdul Halim Abu Bakar (Perikatan Nasional/PN-PAS), Muhammad Faiz Fadzil (Pakatan Harapan/PH-Amanah) and Zamani Ibrahim (Pejuang-Berjasa).

-- BERNAMA