Jufitri Joha from the Malaysian Youth Council (MBM) said the increased funding of RM300 million for the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) was good.
But, he said, he hoped HRDF will be open to working with NGOs to promote these incentives to youths.
“Checks by MBM before this have found that a lot of funding under HRDF has not been taken up by youths.”
He also urged the government to include them in the National Job Council to help with the creation of jobs.
Adhura Husna Farouk Izwan from the International Islamic University Malaysia lauded initiatives related to the development of technical and vocational education and training (TVET).
She said the RM300 million in loans for 24,000 students to pursue TVET programmes was also encouraging, but stressed the application process must not be too stringent.
However, the student activist said more details on the programmes, for which RM6 billion had been allocated, were needed.
The RM6 billion allocation for TVET in the budget is among the largest allocations for the field to date, in line with Putrajaya’s aspiration to expand into high-technology and high-impact sectors which will create high-paying jobs in the long run.
This is also to move away from cheap labour intensive and low-value manufacturing activities, which will also reduce reliance on foreign labour.
Meanwhile, Loo Khai Ming from the Student Unity Front at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia said the wage subsidy programme could help with unemployment and underemployment issues by incentivising industry players to train local graduates.
He also welcomed the RM50 million allocation to improve the facilities and infrastructure at public universities, saying some campuses were in need of a revamp for future student batches.
“We need a safe campus that could accommodate a large number of students, and new technologies such as 5G, Augmented Reality and Internet of Things, to improve lecturing and teaching.”
University Tunku Abdul Rahman student leader Koh Ling Xian told FMT he hoped the government would consider assisting B40 students facing difficulties paying their tuition fees, rentals for accommodation and transport costs now that universities were closed.