Syed Saddiq Protests Against Raising Malaysia’s Retirement Age To 65

The youth and sports minister says half a million young people in Malaysia are jobless.

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 — Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman today objected against a union’s proposal to raise Malaysia’s mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65.

He said about half a million young people in Malaysia, or 10.7 per cent, were jobless, a higher youth unemployment rate than Japan (3.4 per cent), Singapore (5.9 per cent), or Germany (6.2 per cent).

“Prioritise young people for jobs and merit-based promotions, not just based on age!” said Syed Saddiq.

“I’ve already contacted the Human Resources Minister and he has explained that this is only a suggestion from MTUC (Malaysian Trades Union Congress) that has not been finalised yet.”

Human Resources Minister M. Kulasegaran reportedly said earlier today that the government was considering raising Malaysia’s mandatory retirement age to 65 and denied that this would reduce job opportunities for youths.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong reportedly said last month that the country’s retirement age would gradually be raised to 65 from 62.

According to the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the elderly aged 65 and above are expected to form 6.7 per cent of the total population this year, with the old-age dependency ratio increasing from 9.3 in 2018 to 9.6 this year.

Health care groups have said an ageing population will see a rising demand in primary and long-term care.

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