SHAH ALAM, April 1 — Stakeholders must act urgently on Bank Negara Malaysia’s findings that salaries for fresh graduates have regressed in the last decade, said Education Minister Maszlee Malik.

Acknowledging graduates’ concern over the matter, he said his ministry will actively seek solutions.

"This includes revising courses and majors available, in terms of deciding whether or not to abolish them, while adding new courses that are more needs-driven,” he said during his address at the "Rise of the Asian Tiger” convention in UiTM’s Shah Alam campus.

Maszlee said his ministry was committed to ensuring Malaysian universities and graduates were equipped to face global developments.

In BNM’s 2018 Annual Report, the central bank reported that the real starting pay for graduates — from diploma holders to those with postgraduate degrees — effectively fell in the period from 2007 to 2017.

The central bank said urgent reforms were required to address the shortfall of high-skilled jobs that would adequately compensate graduates.