ALOR SETAR: The Kedah government has denied allegations that as many as 100,000 youths in the state are unemployed.
State Human Resources Committee Chairman Wong Chia Zhen said official data from the Kedah branch of the Department of Statistics Malaysia showed that the state’s unemployment rate has been consistently declining over the past two years.
“Based on Kedah’s labour force of 1.4 million people (65% of the 2.13 million population), the 1.7% unemployment rate means that there are fewer than 23,000 unemployed individuals in the entire state,” he said in a statement today.
“The claim that 100,000 Kedah youths are unemployed is inaccurate and not based on official government data.”
Yesterday, Sekretariat Suara Anak Kedah handed over a memorandum to the Menteri Besar, urging solutions to various major issues affecting the people of the state through the Honggaq Kedah gathering in front of Wisma Darul Aman here.
According to Secretariat Director Sulaiman Ibrahim, the memorandum demanded the state government clarify its alleged failure to address high unemployment among Kedah’s youth, with more than 100,000 still jobless despite the government claiming to have attracted major investments. – Bernama
