Malays Graduates Are Less Likely To Be Employed, But It’s Not Because of Racism Says MEF Director

Image source: human resource online 

Whispers of racism in the job market is pretty common here in multi-racial Malaysia, but Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) executive director Shamsuddin Bardan begs to differ.

“There will be some companies which blatantly discriminate against people, but most employers do not look at race in employment.”

Shamsuddin did agree that many Malay graduates face bleak employment prospects (especially in the private sector) with many of them unemployed, but to him this did not indicate racism.

He poses a question:

“We must find out the reasons why Malays are facing unemployment. What are the reasons employers find them less employable?”

To this, Shamsuddin proposes that Malays are facing widespread unemployment because of their poor grasp of English and their reluctance to speak English. This becomes a problem, he said, for the mastery of the English language is becoming necessary in a global market.

“Businessmen are out to make money, they just want someone who can do the job, regardless of their race or religion.” he said.

Credit: thestar.com.my

He further elaborated that Muslim employees should not see their religious faith as a hindrance to their jobs. But both employer and employee must be more considerate of the other. For example, if a Muslim employee had to pray, the employee should have to work extra in order to compensate for the time taken out in order to pray, and not go back home on the dot.

“Take for example Zohor prayers. It can be fulfilled between 1.20 pm and 4 pm, so companies can allow their staff to take their lunch break from 1.20 pm onwards, so that they can pray during their lunch break.”

Shamsuddin added that employees must be fair to their employers, but religious activities shouldn’t be cause a loss in productivity in the work place.

“Muslim employees should not see fulfilling their religious requirements as constraints to do their jobs, while employers should adopt some form of flexibility.”