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Mahathir mustn't mock Uber drivers, nasi lemak sellers

LETTER | I refer to the Malaysiakini report Dr M: Shameful for graduates to end up selling nasi lemak.

This statement is another clear indication of how outdated Dr Mahathir Mohamad is in economic matters.

If we were to use his logic, then the newly appointed AirAsia director, Neelofa is not a success story because she 'only sells tudung' and does so because the government is unable to provide job opportunities for her.

For Mahathir, the famous 'Nasi Lemak Anak Dara', too, surely is a sign of economic distress rather than rise in entrepreneurship skills amongst the Malaysian people.

I would like to highlight the fact that the person behind the famous 'Nasi Lemak Anak Dara' took a big leap with her education background in electronic engineering, to be a young entrepreneur.

She was not forced to 'merely sell nasi lemak' because of a lack of job opportunities or failed government policies.

Similarly with Uber and Grab driving, some graduates are taking a temporary job solution or looking for extra income.

Nothing wrong in this so Mahathir should stop mocking them about their efforts towards a decent earning.

The next time Mahathir decides to touch on the subject of unemployment, he should take note that the unemployment rate in Malaysia fell to 3.3 percent in November 2017 from 3.4 percent in November 2016.

In fact, it was the lowest jobless rate recorded since November 2015.

I urge Mahathir to take note of these statistics because the all-time high unemployment rate in Malaysia was 4.50 percent in March of 1999 when he was the prime minister.

Mahathir is clearly playing his new role as the opposition leader really well with all his spins and distortion of facts.


The writer is president, Pertubuhan Pusat Aduan Rakyat Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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