KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Details on how the government’s initiative to raise local employment prospects and boost national productivity will be announced in due course, Lim Guan Eng said today.

The finance minister announced the Malaysians@Work initiative while tabling Budget 2020 yesterday.

"It is only the day after the budget, please give us time,” he told a news conference in Parliament.

He said the mechanisms, aimed to increase the number of Malaysians in the local workforce and cut dependency on imported labour, will be announced by related agencies such as the Employees’ Provident Fund in time.

"I am cautiously optimistic that we will be able to provide 350,000 jobs over five years,” he added.

The government has allocated RM6.5 billion to Malaysians@Work initiative to create more than 350,000 job opportunities for Malaysians in five years’ time; while reducing the number of jobs held by foreign workers by 130,000.