KUALA LUMPUR: The government must seriously address the shortage of skilled labour in science and technology in the country to attract high-tech investments and increase the wages of Malaysians.
Seputeh member of parliament Teresa Kok said this included the shortage of engineers in the country, which was crucial as it could deter the aim to achieve the status of a "high-income high-growth" country by 2030.
Kok also cited a news report quoting the Small and Medium Enterprises Association of Malaysia (Samenta), which mentioned that Penang alone was facing a shortage of 50,000 engineers to meet the demands of the semiconductor industry, last year.
"I welcome the government's direction to make Malaysia a high-income high-growth country and the New Industrial Master Plan (NIMP) 2030 is a commendable initiative for our country's future.
"However, we must address the shortage of skilled labour in science and technology to attract high investments (in the country) and increase the wages of Malaysians.
"Skilled workers in Malaysia, meanwhile, are being lured by manufacturers in neighbouring countries. Hence, appropriate steps to address the shortage of engineers in the country must be taken so we can achieve our vision of making Malaysia a high-income high-growth country," she said during her debate speech on the 2024 Supply Bill at Dewan Rakyat yesterday.
At the same time, Kok also urged the Education Ministry (MoE) alongside the Higher Education Ministry (MoHE) to collaborate in the efforts to encourage and nurture students' interest in learning science.
She added that the Communications and Digital Ministry must also play its part in promoting the advantages and importance of learning science and mathematics.
"Concurrently, I also hope that MoE provides special training for our teachers on more effective science and mathematics teaching methods."
Earlier this week, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin said more university students were enrolling for business courses in public universities this year, compared to engineering courses.
He said 17,369 students were enrolled in business, administration and law courses, while 13,990 in engineering, manufacturing and construction.