MCO: 4,900 lost their jobs in Sabah
Published on: Wednesday, July 08, 2020
By: Anthea Peter
Yusof
KOTA KINABALU: Some 4,900 workers from 124 companies lost their jobs as a result of the Movement Control Order (MCO) imposed to curb Covid-19 transmissions, said State Education and Innovation Minister Datuk Dr Yusof Yacob.“This is only the registered number. I’m sure there are still hundreds of other (unregistered) companies that are not reporting to the Labour Department, especially small companies,” he told a press conference after launching a campaign, Tuesday.
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His ministry is collaborating with the Human Resource Development Department (JPSM) to offer reskilling and upskilling programmes to assist the unemployed and increase their industry relevance.
He said the State Government has also allocated RM20 million to his Ministry for this purpose.
“We have started negotiating with various institutions so they may come up with a proposal or offer courses,” he said.
Yusof added that it would be more beneficial if the institutions signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) declaring collaborative initiatives with industry players.
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“This is so that trainees are able to fill up job vacancies (within these industries) when they’ve been trained,” he added.
Yusof also encouraged entrepreneurship courses so that trainees may work towards generating their own source of income.
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“It doesn’t matter what kind entrepreneurship, as long as the trainees will not have to live from paycheck to paycheck,” he said, adding that the Government has offered Micro Credit Schemes via Sabah Credit Corporation to support such entrepreneurial initiatives.
The courses would be made available in all districts – the first scheduled on July 13 at Sindumin, Sipitang.
“We hope that these programmes will help the economy recover soon as possible.”
On the full reopening of schools on July 15, Yusof said the State Government would provide face masks and hand sanitisers to all schools.
To address the shortage of classrooms, the schools have prepared by rescheduling school sessions to accommodate all students while complying with the set Standard Operating Procedures (SOP).
Earlier, Yusof launched a Covid-19 Awareness and Prevention Campaign by Sabah Net supported by his ministry, involving a mobile LED truck which will travel district to district to disseminate information regarding Covid-19 preventive measures.
Sabah Net Director Dr Liawas Barukang said it would benefit especially those in areas who have limited access to important information.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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