Over 4,000 in Sarawak jobless due to Covid pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has caused a total of 4,037 people in Sarawak to lose their jobs, Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Department Gerawat Gala said today.

He said as a form of immediate relief, the Sarawak government had implemented eight Sarawakku Sayang Special Assistance (BKSS) packages amounting to RM5.7 billion to alleviate the burden of the people affected, including those who lost their jobs.

“To reduce unemployment, the Graduate Enhancement Training Sarawak and Industry Workforce Development programmes were among the measures taken to help graduates and allow them to undergo industrial training.

“The BKSS package also includes the provision of cash to the B40 group, cash assistance for SMEs, as well as rental deferment,” he said in reply to a question from Safiee Ahmad (GPS-Daro) during the question-and-answer session at the state assembly sitting in Kuching.

Gerawat said the Social Security Organisation (Soco) had also held programmes such as the Go Rural Area Programme and career carnivals to provide information on job opportunities.

“With the economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more companies such as Sarawak Oil Palms and Sarawak Petchem are also actively holding job fairs,” he said.

Over the long term, he said the Sarawak government would continue introducing initiatives under the Post-Covid-19 Development Strategic Plan 2030 (PCDS 2030) to create more high productivity economic activities as well as employment and business opportunities.

“It is expected that about 200,000 high paying jobs will be created by 2030,” he added.