Najib asks private sector to improve offer to workers especially youth

by **Cals** Tue 10 Jun 2014, 03:15

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Bernama

Monday, 09 June 2014 14:31

KUALA LUMPUR (June 9): To attract and retain new talent, the private sector should continue to improve its offers to the workforce, on which its success depends, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today.

In his keynote address at Invest Malaysia 2014, Najib said this would be particularly important when members of the younger generation assume greater economic significance.

"As our workforce grows, the government will continue to track gross national income as a key measures of success," said Najib.

He added that young people today see a much more open, connected and complicated world, and they are hungry to make the best of it.

"Aside from a few disruptive industries, and a few precocious superstars, the upper echelons of politics and business are often confined to people of my generation.

"We bring wisdom and experience, yes, but we do not always imagine the trajectories these young people's lives and careers will take.

"We can and should do more to ensure their views are not just listened to, but accounted for in policy making," said Najib.

Najib said wages in the country, at 32.9 per cent of GDP, were considerably lower than in developed markets where the figure was closer to 40 per cent, and pointed out that wages and productivity could increase in parallel.

He added that managing the cost of living and keeping inflation low is one of the key economic targets.

"But beneath the headline figures, we must also acknowledge that the public's understanding of development is shaped by many non-economic factors," he said.