Top scorers in exams but fail to enter U

KUALA TERENGGANU: Many top students in Terengganu, despite achieving excellent results in public examinations, have failed to get into local universities, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman.English proved to be their downfall.

The students, top scorers in the Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) and Sijil Tinggi Agama Malaysia (Stam), fared badly in the Malaysian University English Test (Muet).

Muet is a compulsory test to set a benchmark for English among Malaysian students.

Passing Muet is a passport for those who wish to pursue a first-degree programme in local universities.

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Ahmad Razif said the state government was concerned over this and had come up with the Education Transformation Laboratory.

He said scholars, academicians and other experts would be gathered to input ideas on what the state government and the Education Department could do to overcome the issue.

"The state government and the exco members have organised various programmes with Petronas, ExxonMobil and other major private and government-linked companies towards this end," he said after launching the 2016-2020 Terengganu Education Transformation Laboratory on Sunday.

Ahmad Razif said the laboratory, apart from ensuring more rural and urban students mastered the English language from young, would also look into the ways to help sponsor Terengganu-born students for their higher education.

In IPOH, there are at least 200,000 graduates who are unemployed and the number is expected to increase.

Describing it as worrying, Malaysian employers Federation (MEF) executive director Datuk Shamsuddin Bardan said the number began to increase following the government's decision to extend the retirement age to 60 in 2013.

"It is worsening as the Public Services Department (PSD) announced that it would freeze intake for public servants this year and there is only so many the private sector can take in," he said, after a labour colloquium here on Saturday, adding that PSD's decision to freeze intake had affected up to 15,000 people.

"We hope the government can provide incentives to the private sector in the 2016 Budget to encourage them to take in unemployed graduates."

Asked what were the reasons for graduates to be unemployed, Shamsuddin said it was their ability to converse in English.

"Most of them hail from rural areas and they do not know how to carry themselves."

On the federation's outlook for the coming months, Shamsuddin said it was expected to be bleak.

"Unless there are stimulus packages, we do not see a positive outlook. From January to July, our members have retrenched 10,000 people," he said adding that more jobs were expected to be cut back in the coming months.

Earlier in the workshop, Shamsuddin, who spoke on Current Labour Market – Employers Views, said Malaysia should certify its workers.

"No point being a high-income nation if our productivity is low."

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He said with the Asean Economic Community, which would result in free labour movement, local workers would face more challenges.

He said the days of employees having only one skill numbered. "Employers want workers who are knowledgeable and can multitask."

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