Malaysian Govt Wants More Science Graduates But Country is Not Providing Work Opportunities

Our Prime Minister, Tun Mahathir once said that we can’t be too picky about our jobs but who is at fault if the government pushes for more science graduates in our country but doesn’t provide enough jobs for them to fill? 

In a tweet that has since garnered more than 14,000 retweets and 10,000 likes, a Malaysian science graduate under the Twitter handle @najmihensen pointed out how hard it is for science graduates like himself to find a job in our country. He wrote that,

“I am an unemployed and unused molecular biologist. Nobody wants to hire me.”

His comment was in response to a tweet by @PlanetariumKL which posted a screenshot of a paper clipping from Harian Metro which says that Malaysia needs more science graduates. The headline itself was quoting our Minister of Energy, Science and Technology, Yeo Bee Yin.

Source: Twitter

A similar rhetoric was mooted by the Higher Education Department director-general Datin Paduka Dr Siti Hamisah Tapsir back in 2018 when she said that Malaysia needs at least 500,000 scientists and engineers by 2020. Seemingly a good omen for our science graduates then, right?

Well, as Thanos would put it, reality is often disappointing. 

He continued with a Twitter thread highlighting the predicament that he and other science graduates have gone through in our country due to the lack of employment opportunities in the country. Definitely a stark contrast to what our ministers have been saying!

“At the end of it all, I’ll just have to take up any job that’s available even though it is not the field I studied in. I need to sustain myself.”

Source: Twitter

Addressing the ministers directly in his subsequent tweet, @najmihensen sarcastically remarks that if Malaysia were to solve the alleged brain drain problem, they just have to look into call centres, retail outlets or even the nearest 7-Eleven as there are where our science graduates are currently working at due to a lack of employment opportunities.

He also claimed that the slim employment opportunities are also affected by alleged political appointments.

“Someone told me that the position I applied for in the Ministry of Health was filled by a political appointee. Congratulations! Even a science officer needs political appointments eh?”

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Unfortunately, the situation that this molecular biology graduate face is not unique but is actually quite common. This can be seen by the droves of response by Malaysian science graduates in Twittersphere sharing how they are suffering the same plight.

Just take a look at some notable ones below:

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

Source: Twitter

This tweet response by @ami_raf really to the original thread sums up the whole predicament perfectly:

Source: Twitter

“Need more science graduates? Then what about us science graduate in research field being left out cold? And then asking us to work outside our fields? And then say we’re too picky with our jobs?”

Well this is certainly a huge issue that the country has to look into immediately. We should not let our time and effort spent studying, and bright shiny future that we’ve wished for burn to the ground. Share your thoughts and stories with us in the comments section!

Also read: Half A Million Malaysians Are Unemployed, With Young Adults Making up The Majority