Latest news with #UzirMahidin
Free Malaysia Today
01-06-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Ageing farmers threaten food security, productivity, says Fadillah
(From left) Energy transition and water transformation secretary-general Zaidi Karli, deputy agriculture and food security minister Arthur Joseph Kurup, deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof, economy secretary-general Nor Azmie Diron and chief statistician Uzir Mahidin at the launch of the 2024 Agriculture Census interim report. SERDANG : Malaysia's agriculture sector is facing serious challenges because of an ageing workforce, with nearly half of the country's farmers now aged 60 and above, says deputy prime minister Fadillah Yusof. He said the issue is affecting productivity and the country's ability to sustain domestic food production. 'To ensure the sector's sustainability, we must attract more youths to agriculture. 'Without a skilled and competitive younger generation, our goal of reducing import dependence and ensuring national food security will be difficult to achieve,' he said at the launch of the 2024 Agriculture Census interim report today. The report showed that 45.4% of individual agricultural operators are aged 60 and above, while only 22.2% are aged between 15 and 45. Another 32.3% are aged 46 to 59. Fadillah said better incentives, the use of modern technology, and efforts to improve the image of farming as a career are needed to attract younger talent. Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said Sabah recorded the highest number of young farmers, totalling 6,180, aged 15 to 30, followed by Perak (5,149) and Sarawak (3,583). For farmers aged 60 and above, Sarawak topped the list with 63,452, followed by Kedah (61,886) and Sabah (57,007). Uzir said agriculture remains a key part of Malaysia's economy, not just for food supply but also for supporting the processing industry, creating jobs and raising household incomes, particularly among farmers. He said the agriculture census will now be conducted every 10 years, with shorter, interim surveys starting in 2026 to provide more timely data. The last agriculture census was carried out 19 years ago. Also launched at the event was the TaniStats portal, which aims to improve access to agriculture-related data for farmers, policymakers and stakeholders. It includes platforms such as TaniFacts, myFoodStats, myAgrochain and the MyAgroPrice dashboard. The dashboard provides monthly price data for 60 selected agricultural products at farm, wholesale and retail levels, according to states, from 2020 to 2024. Fadillah said this would help farmers plan marketing strategies and assist policymakers in tracking price trends and designing targeted interventions. Data from the statistics department showed that Malaysia imported 60% of its food supply in 2022. Only 24 local agricultural items recorded growth in production that year, compared with 28 in 2021.
The Star
19-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Stats Dept launches tool for small traders, hawkers to make data-driven decisions
PUTRAJAYA: Small traders and hawkers will be able to make data-driven decisions with a newly launched dashboard that tracks socio-economic indicators, says Chief Statistician Datuk Seri Dr Uzir Mahidin. "With the collected data on hawkers and traders, we will be able to study the socio-economic situation more specifically," he said after launching the Putrajaya Hawkers and Small Traders Association (Penjaya) dashboard here on Monday (May 19). Uzir said that the dashboard, which is part of the department's strategy to make statistics publicly available, would be expanded to include hawkers and small traders nationwide by the end of 2025. Uzir also said that the initiative marked a significant milestone in government-community collaboration, demonstrating how data can be effectively used to promote the well-being of the people. Federation of Malay Hawkers and Petty Traders Associations president Datuk Zainal Abidin Abdul Majid said the dashboard would also help to ensure delivery of government assistance. "The data collected and integrated into the dashboard will help us provide better information to the government when requesting budgetary assistance," he said. Penjaya president Juhaidi Yean Abdullah said the website marks a new chapter for Penjaya in moving them towards data-driven approaches. The dashboard is available at which compiles data on hawkers and petty traders in the Federal Territory.
Free Malaysia Today
09-05-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Malaysia's unemployment rate holds at 3.1% in March
Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the labour market is expected to remain strong and resilient, driven by sustained labour demand and ongoing government initiatives. (Bernama pic) PETALING JAYA : Malaysia's labour market remained stable in March, with the number of unemployed persons dipping to 529,600 and the unemployment rate holding steady at 3.1%, according to the statistics department. Chief statistician Uzir Mahidin said the continued job growth was supported by stable domestic demand and improved economic conditions. 'An optimistic economic position in March has allowed the country's labour market to continue to develop steadily,' he said in a statement accompanying the release of the latest Labour Force Survey. The labour force grew by 0.2% from February to 17.31 million, while the number of employed persons rose 0.3% to 16.78 million. The labour force participation rate (LFPR) remained at 70.7%. Of those employed, 75.2% were wage earners, totalling 12.61 million, while own-account workers, including freelancers and gig workers, rose 0.6% to 3.15 million. The services sector continued to dominate employment, especially in accommodation and food, information and communication, and professional services. Employment also saw gains in manufacturing, construction, agriculture, and mining. Actively unemployed individuals – those available and seeking work – made up 79.4% of the total unemployed. Of this group, 63.9% had been jobless for less than three months. The share of long-term unemployed (over a year) stood at 5.5%. The number of discouraged job seekers, or inactively unemployed, fell by 1.1% to 108,900 persons. However, Uzir said youth unemployment remained high, with a 10.3% jobless rate among those aged 15 to 24, and 6.3% among those aged 15 to 30 – both unchanged from February. Looking ahead, he said the labour market is expected to remain strong and resilient, driven by sustained labour demand and ongoing government initiatives to safeguard market stability. 'Thus, in line with this, the country's labour market condition is seen to continue to be optimistic and able to expand briskly and resiliently in the face of the worldwide economic uncertainties,' he said.
Malaysiakini
30-04-2025
- Business
- Malaysiakini
Women own 219k businesses, 93pct in services sector
A total of 219,015 active women-owned establishments were recorded in Malaysia in 2022, as reported by the Statistics Department. The department's Economic Census 2023, released today, noted that this represented 20.1 percent of the total registered establishments in the country. Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said the number of women-owned establishments operating in 2022 shows...
Malaysiakini
29-04-2025
- Business
- Malaysiakini
Malaysia tops open data ranking, surpasses 198 countries
Malaysia made history by clinching the top spot in the Open Data Inventory (Odin) 2024/25 rankings, with an overall score of 90 and an exceptional 99 in data openness, surpassing 198 countries. Chief Statistician Uzir Mahidin said the official report, released today by Open Data Watch (ODW), marked a significant leap for Malaysia, which was previously ranked 67th in the 2022/23 assessment. He said the achievement was...
