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Malaysiakini
23-05-2025
- Business
- Malaysiakini
Rethinking graduate wages in M'sia: Are we seeing the full picture?
While concerns over low starting salaries for graduates are valid and deserve attention, it is important to frame the conversation around comprehensive data rather than isolated anecdotal accounts. The recent narrative, as featured in an article titled 'Degree holders lament incommensurate wages', paints a dismal picture of graduate earnings. However, key national statistics suggest a more nuanced and, in some cases, more optimistic reality. A broader look at graduate earnings Contrary to claims that most degree holders earn below RM3,000, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reports a median salary of RM4,409 and a mean salary of RM4,933 for graduates in 2023. These figures reflect a more accurate average of what degree holders are earning across industries, rather than the narrower lens of entry-level salaries in specific sectors. Furthermore, MYFutureJobs, Malaysia's national job matching platform, shows that graduate-level jobs advertise an average salary of RM4,537 as of April 2025. For better alignment with DOSM's data, another perspective from PERKESO's Data Placement 2024 reports that the average salary for graduates entering PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians) occupations is RM3,598. These numbers show strong alignment between advertised and actual salaries, indicating that the labour market may be more competitive and fairer than suggested by individual employer surveys. Contextualising entry-level wages It is true that starting salaries in the public sector at RM2,250 for Grade 9 (formerly Grade 41) are lower than average salaries in the private sector. However, this doesn't capture the full compensation trajectory. Grade 9 positions in government service can reach up to RM11,110, and they often come with long-term benefits like pension schemes, job security, and annual increments that may not exist in many private roles. At the same time, graduates from arts and social sciences tend to earn lower starting salaries, largely due to a combination of market oversupply, limited demand, and the less direct commercial applicability of their qualifications. According to the Ministry of Higher Education's 2023 data, over 150,000 graduates, or more than 50 percent of total graduate output, were from non-STEM fields like Business Administration and Law (82,288 graduates), Arts and Humanities (22,558), Education (17,933), and Social Sciences (17,539). This oversupply creates a notable mismatch between graduate output and labour market needs. Bridging this gap requires targeted upskilling in areas such as digital literacy and analytical competencies, which are critical to enhancing employability and opening pathways to higher-value career opportunities, both in the public and private sectors. A case of mismatch, not oversupply One of the key issues at hand is not necessarily that there are too many graduates, but that many are underemployed. According to DOSM, 35.7 percent of employed graduates in Quarter 1, 2025, were in roles that did not match their qualifications, which is a symptom of skill mismatch, not an oversupply of graduates per see. The Graduate Employability Rate (GER) for 2024, on the other hand, stands at 92.5 percent, which reflects that the vast majority of graduates are indeed employed. Therefore, the challenge is aligning the quality of those jobs with the qualifications and aspirations of graduates, which is an issue that calls for better industry-academia alignment, not just wage reform. What needs to change Rather than placing undue emphasis solely on starting salaries, which are understandably lower as part of the natural career progression, the national conversation should pivot towards more sustainable and impactful solutions. One of the key areas requiring attention is the closing of the skill gap. This involves a critical enhancement of university curricula to ensure that graduates are equipped with competencies that align with the evolving needs of industry. A stronger emphasis on practical, industry-relevant education can bridge the disconnect between academic training and workplace expectations. Equally important is the support for upskilling and reskilling initiatives, which empower graduates to transition into high-demand and emerging sectors such as digital technology, green economy, and advanced manufacturing. These sectors not only offer better remuneration but also greater long-term career resilience in a rapidly shifting job market. Through data mining and analysis, efforts have been made to explore parameters that allow comparison between reskilled or upskilled graduates and fresh graduates. While direct official salary comparisons for reskilled individuals are limited, existing policy frameworks and research consistently highlight that reskilling enhances employability, job readiness, and career advancement. These improvements are generally associated with more favourable salary outcomes compared to those of fresh graduates entering the workforce without additional training or experience. In addition, greater industry collaboration must be encouraged. Structured partnerships between the public and private sectors can create clear, purposeful pathways from education to employment, including internships, apprenticeships, and industry-driven training programmes, which can ease the transition into the workforce and raise job quality. While there are legitimate concerns about business sustainability, especially among micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), blanket suppression of graduate wages should not be seen as a viable solution. Instead, a more balanced and forward-thinking approach is needed, one that integrates performance-based remuneration, targeted government incentives, and comprehensive labour market reforms. Such a strategy would not only support business viability but also ensure fair and equitable compensation for Malaysia's highly educated workforce. This Social Security series is in collaboration with PERKESO.
New Straits Times
23-05-2025
- Business
- New Straits Times
Rethinking graduate wages
WHILE concerns over low starting salaries for graduates are valid and deserve attention, it is important to frame the conversation around comprehensive data rather than isolated anecdotal accounts. The recent narrative, as featured in a news article, paints a dismal picture of graduate earnings. However, key national statistics suggest a more nuanced and, in some cases, more optimistic reality. A BROADER LOOK AT GRADUATE EARNINGS Contrary to claims that most degree holders earn below RM3,000, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reports a median salary of RM4,409 and a mean salary of RM4,933 for graduates in 2023. These figures reflect a more accurate average of what degree holders are earning across industries, rather than the narrower lens of entry-level salaries in specific sectors. Furthermore, MYFutureJobs, Malaysia's national job-matching platform, shows that graduate-level jobs advertised an average salary of RM4,537 up to last month. In alignment with DOSM's data, the Social Security Organisation's (Perkeso) 2024 Data Placement also reports that the average salary for graduates entering PMET (Professionals, Managers, Executives, and Technicians) roles is RM3,598. These numbers show strong alignment between advertised and actual salaries, suggesting that the labour market may be more competitive and fairer than what individual employer surveys suggest. ENTRY-LEVEL WAGES It is true that public sector entry-level salaries, such as RM2,250 for Grade 9 (formerly Grade 41), are lower than private sector medians. However, this figure does not capture the full compensation trajectory, as Grade 9 positions in the government can rise to RM11,110 and come with long-term benefits such as pension schemes, job security and annual increments, which are often absent in many private sector roles. At the same time, graduates from the arts and social sciences tend to earn lower starting salaries, largely due to market oversupply, limited demand and less direct commercial applicability of their qualifications. According to the Higher Education Ministry's 2023 data, over 150,000 graduates, or more than 50 per cent of total graduate output, came from non-science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields such as Business Administration and Law (82,288), Arts and Humanities (22,558), Education (17,933) and Social Sciences (17,539). This oversupply has created a mismatch between graduate output and labour market needs. Bridging this gap requires targeted upskilling in areas such as digital literacy and analytical competencies — skills critical to enhancing employability and creating pathways to higher-value career opportunities in both the public and private sectors. MISMATCH, NOT OVERSUPPLY One of the key issues is not necessarily an oversupply of graduates, but underemployment. According to DOSM, 35.7 per cent of employed graduates in the first quarter of this year were in roles that did not match their qualifications — a clear sign of skill mismatch rather than graduate surplus. Yet, the Graduate Employability Rate for last year stood at 92.5 per cent, reflecting that the vast majority of graduates are employed. The challenge lies in aligning job quality with graduate qualifications and aspirations. This issue calls for improved industry-academia collaboration, not just wage reform. WHAT NEEDS TO CHANGE Rather than focusing solely on starting salaries, naturally lower as part of early career progression, the national conversation should pivot toward sustainable and impactful solutions. Chief among them is closing the skill gap, which requires critically enhancing university curricula to ensure graduates are equipped with skills that align with evolving industry needs. Greater emphasis on practical, industry-relevant education can bridge the disconnect between academic training and workplace expectations. Equally important is supporting upskilling and reskilling initiatives, which empower graduates to transition into high-demand sectors such as digital technology, the green economy and advanced manufacturing. These sectors offer not only better remuneration, but also long-term career resilience. Data analysis has begun to explore ways to compare outcomes between reskilled/upskilled graduates and fresh graduates. Although direct official salary comparisons are limited, existing policy frameworks and research consistently show that reskilling improves employability, job readiness and career progression, often leading to better salary outcomes than those available to fresh graduates. Additionally, stronger industry collaboration must be encouraged. Structured partnerships between the public and private sectors can create clear, purposeful pathways from education to employment, such as internships, apprenticeships and industry-driven training programmes that ease workforce entry and raise job quality. While there are legitimate concerns about business sustainability, especially among micro, small and medium enterprises, blanket suppression of graduate wages should not be seen as a viable solution. Instead, a more balanced and forward-thinking approach is required: one that integrates performance-based remuneration, targeted government incentives and comprehensive labour market reforms. Such a strategy would not only support business viability, but also ensure fair and equitable compensation for Malaysia's highly educated workforce.
The Star
06-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Indian national charged with CBT involving over RM140K
KUALA LUMPUR: An Indian national has pleaded not guilty in the Sessions Court here to charges of criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving more than RM140,000. Rajinder Singh, 57, was charged as the director of Vantage Trading Partners, with committing CBT of the company's funds amounting to RM141,486.12. The offence was allegedly committed at the company premises at Ilham Tower, Jalan Binjai here, on Oct 13 and Nov 26, 2021. He was charged under Section 409 of the Penal Code, which provides a prison sentence of not less than two years and a maximum of 20 years, whipping and is liable to a fine, if convicted. He also pleaded not guilty to an alternative charge of using the fund without the consent or ratification of a general meeting at the same location and date. The charge, under Section 218(1)(a) of the Companies Act, provides imprisonment for up to five years, or a fine of up to RM3mil, or both, upon conviction. Judge Zulqarnain Hassan did not allow the accused bail and set June 5 for mention. 'The principle of bail is to ensure the accused appears in court. The accused and his wife are foreign nationals, and this country is not their homeland. Therefore, bail is not allowed,' he said yesterday, Bernama reported. Earlier, deputy public prosecutor Mohamad Ikhwan Mohd Nasir did not offer bail, but said that if the court exercised its discretion to grant bail, he requested the bail amount at RM70,000 with two Malaysian guarantors. Lawyer Daniel Annamalai, representing Rajinder, requested that his client be allowed bail on the grounds that he has a wife, who is British, and two teenage children to support. 'The accused is not at risk of fleeing because he has lived in this country for seven years and has businesses in Malaysia, India, Bangladesh and Indonesia, in addition to being a 'trader' for the governments of the four countries,' he said.
The Hindu
29-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Police may arrest Periyar University V-C if he fails to cooperate with SC/ST case probe: Madras High Court
The Madras High Court on Tuesday (April 29, 2025) made it clear that it would be open to the Tamil Nadu police arresting Periyar University Vice-Chancellor R. Jagannathan if he failed to cooperate with the authorities in the investigation of a case registered against him under the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, or attempted to tamper with the evidence. Justice P. Velmurugan passed the orders, while partly allowing a criminal appeal filed by the police in 2023 against the refusal of a judicial magistrate in Salem to remand the vice-chancellor to judicial custody, as well as the order passed by the magistrate granting bail to the accused. The judge opined that there was no error whatsoever in refusing to remand the accused. He, however, held that the magistrate had no jursidiction to grant bail to the accused, as the offences alleged against him were triable only by a sessions court and there was an express bar for grant of bail in SC/ST cases without hearing the victim concerned. Justice Velmurugan confirmed the magistrate's order to the extent of refusing to remand the accused but set aside the grant of bail. Further, the judge directed the accused to extend his fullest cooperation in the investigation and said: 'In case he fails to cooperate or the prosecution finds that he is trying to tamper with the evidence, it is always open to the investigating officer to arrest the first respondent (vice-chancellor) and take him to judicial custody and complete the investigation in accordance with the law.' What is the case about? The Salem police had registered the case against the vice-chancellor in 2023 on the basis of a complaint lodged by E. Elangovan, president of the Periyar University Labour Union, accusing the V-C of having misused his office for private benefits by starting an entity named Periyar University Technology Entrepreneurship and Research (PUTER) Foundation, which was involved in multiple activities. According to the complainant, the PUTER Foundation had been allotted space inside the university campus without the approval of the Senate or the Syndicate. When this irregularity was questioned, the V-C used slur words referring to his caste, the complainant alleged, and accused the V-C of having misappropriated a huge amount of money through the foundation. Therefore, the police had registered the case under various provisions, including Section 409 (criminal breach of trust), of the Indian Penal Code as well as the SC/ST Act. However, when they arrested the vice-chancellor on December 26, 2023, and produced him before the magistrate, the latter refused to remand and also granted bail, forcing the prosecution to file the present criminal appeal.
