KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 – What is the fate our graduates during this difficult time?

UMNO President Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi commented on the matter, questioning the fate of more than 200,000 graduates in facing the threat of COVID-19 and the severe economic crisis. They are among 772,900 individuals unemployed as at now.

He is of the view that the government needs to find immediate ways to help them, including the provision of micro-entrepreneur schemes or variable loans in the form of business grants, and other measures.

“How are you my friends, notably our graduates who are diligently looking for jobs when the industry and economy seem gloomy…. I receive a lot of complaints on the social media about this.

“High school leavers do not have job. They cannot service their PTPTN’s debt, let alone planning a new life. In fact, the issue of increasing unemployment among graduates has already been highlighted in 2018. At that time, almost 60 per cent graduates of the First Degree and above were reportedly to be unemployed.

“The number of unemployed 145,800 graduates in 2016 has increased sharply to 170,300 people in 2019,” he said in a Facebook posting, today.

Zahid added that for this year, the number is reported to have increased between 200,000 and 230,000 amid Covid-19 pandemic and economic instability.