KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 ― Young Malaysians need the federal government to create well-paying jobs rather than more universities, DAP’s Zairil Khir Johari said today.

While acknowledging that building a university in Teluk Intan would act as a catalyst for economic growth, Zairil also took a jab at Barisan Nasional (BN)’s candidate Datuk Mah Siew Keong’s promise to get approval for the university if he wins the by-election there.

“As the incumbent federal government, it is irresponsible of the BN to make the construction of the university conditional upon winning.

“By-elections should not be turned into buy-elections as voters by blackmailing voters,” the Bukit Bendera MP said in a statement today.

Zairil said many graduates could not find any jobs or end up working in jobs that require skills well below their qualification.

Citing World Bank data, he said Malaysia’s youth unemployment rate at 10.3 per cent in 2012 was much higher than neighbours including Singapore and Thailand at 6.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent respectively.

Putrajaya’s defence that the country’s youth unemployment rate was still below Europe’s figure does not make sense when that region is still going through an “economic crisis”, Zairil said.

Citing minister Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar, Zairil said the rate for youth underemployment where they worked jobs below what they deserve as graduates was at 15.1 per cent.

He highlighted that 70 per cent of Malaysia’s workforce was unskilled or low-skilled workers, calling that  “alarmingly high”.

“It is clear that the problem is not the lack of universities, but the lack of jobs that not only suit our graduates’ qualifications but also pay commensurately,” the DAP assistant publicity secretary said, saying that the syllabus used at universities should be updated to match industry needs.

The federal government should invest in improving worker skills and reduce over-reliance on cheap and unskilled foreign labourers, while also encouraging businesses to use more machines which would create better-paying skilled jobs, he said.

He pointed to Pakatan Rakyat-led Penang, which he said had successfully attracted companies such as Citibank and AirAsia to relocate some of their services there and help create jobs.

On Saturday, Gerakan president and two-time Teluk Intan MP Mah, 53, will take on DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud, 26, in a straight fight in the Teluk Intan by-election.

The by-election was triggered after DAP’s Seah Leong Peng died from cancer on May 1.

The Chinese comprise the largest group of voters in Teluk Intan at 42 per cent of the electorate. The Malays form 38 per cent, and the Indians 19 per cent of the 60,349-strong electorate.