BY AKMAL NASIR
I noted the statement made by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan that the increased use of technology will see Malaysia losing 65% of its current jobs by 2027.
- In my opinion, local skilled workforce must be empowered to use their talent and potential, which should have been done before.
Currently Malaysia’s skilled workforce is 28 percent out of its total population which is relatively low compared to other advanced nations who have reach 40 percent of skilled workforce among their populations.
This number is clearly not in line with economic requirement in the 21st century which emphasize high mastery of skills, mastery of information technology (IT), creativity and innovation.
Malaysia needs at least 40 percent skilled workforce in an effort to become a high-income developed nation.
- I see the world digital economy moving too fast but how about Malaysia? In 1985, Malaysia relied on foreign investment and technology transfer through the Look East Policy which was expected to be a tool to bring Malaysia to a developed-nation status.
Meanwhile, pre-1985 Malaysia relied on commodity export. Following the fall of commodity market which started in 1985, Malaysia was transformed into an industrial nation. However, research showed that multinational companies were not interested to transfer their technologies to other countries.
Clearly the technology transfer did not happen as planned. Unlike Malaysia, Korea and Taiwan did not depend on technology transfer, in fact they themselves learned and created their own technology.
- This shows that Malaysia as a country has failed although we are reaching year 2020. The more developed a nation is, the more sophisticated the corruption and fraud in its commerce and politics.
Everything will fall apart if the population is lazy and not disciplined. Without traits such as honesty and trustworthiness, there will be fraud where one party attempts to harm the other party.
The success of reaching a goal is not only dependent on technological advancement or the perfection of systems in place.
- Material or economic achivements alone do not reflect or prove actual progress. What is the meaning of material wealth if the society is threatened by crimes happening around them.
- A country’s richest source is its citizens. Human resource development depends very much on changes in values and attitudes of its people.
Ethics is also a conduct or behavior that can be compared to human habits and behavior. Habit is built on three elements, namely knowledge, skills and desire.
The three essential elements must be honed and nurtured and subsequently internalised to produce individuals who are dynamic and able to produce more excellent results.
*Akmal Nasir is KEADILAN Youth Strategic Director
