MELAKA (Nov 6): Pakatan Harapan's (PH) track record as a key component of the federal government should serve as a yardstick for Melaka voters to assess the coalition's capabilities ahead of the 16th Melaka state election on Nov 14, said Pasir Gudang Member of Parliament Hassan Abdul Karim.
He said the government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had a good record in governance, particularly in creating employment opportunities for the people.
"Official government employment and investment statistics show that hundreds of thousands of new jobs have been and are being generated by the Madani government," he said in an open message to Melaka voters and the public on Friday.
Citing data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Hassan said the domestic economy had generated an average of 20,000 to 35,000 new jobs every quarter between 2023 and 2026, in line with a decline in the unemployment rate to between 3.1% and 3.3%.
He said the RM329.5 billion in approved investments in 2023 were expected to generate more than 127,000 new jobs, including over 36,500 in the digital and technology sectors.
"For 2024 and 2025, approved investments contributed to the creation of between 120,000 and 140,000 new job opportunities across the manufacturing and services sectors," he said, citing the Malaysian Investment Development Authority (Mida).
Hassan said the government was targeting at least 30,000 new high-skilled and technology-based jobs for local youths and graduates.
He said the government also aimed to create tens of thousands of new medium- and high-income jobs by 2027 through initiatives involving HRD Corp, the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso) and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET).
Hassan also highlighted foreign investors' confidence in the national economy, citing Google's announcement of a US$15 billion (about RM61.1 billion) investment in Malaysia, which is expected to create 37,000 jobs by 2027.
"These are not political propaganda. These are facts that the people of Melaka and Malaysia can assess for themselves as the results of the work of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and his Madani government in creating jobs for Malaysians," he said.
The Election Commission (EC) has set Nov 14 as polling day for the Melaka state election, with early voting scheduled for Nov 10.
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