KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 — Jobs. That is what most Malaysians want in 2050, says Khairy Jamaluddin.
The youth and sports minister who has been put in charge of the Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) initiative said young Malaysians especially would like to see a bigger job market where they are not displaced by technology in the future.
Khairy explained that Putrajaya has to look into new ways to produce more career opportunities that are relevant in the future “considering the fact that 65 per cent of jobs that primary school students today will end up doing won’t even exist in the future.”
And how will this be done? “We tweak our education system so that it is also future proof.
“Do we have enough data scientists, do we have enough people who specialise in genetics, biotech and robotics. These are the things we have to look into now,” Khairy added.
The Umno Youth chief said that Putrajaya was already using “mega-trends” to predict what would be required for the nation’s future.
“The Cabinet made a decision which is to start looking at jobs of the future and go backwards so that we can make tweaks to our education system.
“We have to start encouraging young people and parents to start looking at these new areas. If we do not do this, we don’t secure the future. We won’t have enough people,” Khairy stressed.
The Rembau MP, however, also reminded Malaysians to rethink their retirement plans and start saving for their future.
He predicts that by 2050 the retirement age would be raised due to a lower mortality rate and higher life expectancy of Malaysians.
“Young people... they don’t want to talk about retirement, old age and health care because they are young. These are the last things on their minds.
“As much as I listened to aspirations: I have to talk to them. Tell them you have to start saving now. Financial literacy has to improve. You have to start teaching financial literacy in schools and we have to relook at the notion of retirement,” Khairy said.
He added that Malaysians also need to consider mastering other “skill sets” to help them cope with retirement e.g. getting a side income.
Khairy added Malaysians should also consider looking at assisted living for the elderly which will reduce the burden financially on them.
