The Malaysian Employers Federation (MEF) has denied that Malays are being deliberately sidelined for jobs in the private sector, explaining that the low numbers are due to insufficiency in their skills set.

NONEMEF executive director Shamsuddin Bardan (left) said it was “unthoughtful to make such a statement", referring to Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin's claim during the Umno general assembly.

Khairy had called for government intervention to ensure that Malays are well represented the private sector as well.

"According to studies, although they met the grade in terms of merits and qualifications, they do not get a fair deal," he had claimed.

"There are cases where they get lower salaries compared to other workers with similar abilities and qualifications.

"What is even sadder is that we constantly see advertisements for work that clearly state their preference for one community and marginalise others.".

When contacted today, Shamsudin pointed to other factors.

"The problem for employers is the skills set. For example, the command of the English language does not fulfil the business demands of the employer," he said.

Rather than look at the issue from a racial lens, he suggested that political parties discuss measures to raise the competitiveness of the Malays.

He also said the assumption that Malays are being sidelined or poorly represented in the private sector is based on "hypothetical studies".

"If you were to conduct a survey among employers, I am pretty sure the results would be rather different," he added.