Khairy Jamaluddin expresses admiration for IIUM at ‘Whatsup Broski KJ’ event

By Mohammad Shahziq Saleem

GOMBAK, May 17 2024: Mahallah Sumayyah organised ˜Whatsup Broski KJ™ event where they invited former minister of health and current host of political podcast, Keluar Sekejap, Khairy Jamaluddin to give his advice on the marketability and employability of graduates in the futures and the issues surrounding it as well as the ways of improving the education system (objective).  The event was held at Main Auditorium, IIUM Gombak on 16th May and was moderated by Br. Muhammad Asyraf Hakimi Bin Zaid.

The first question posed to Khairy Jamaluddin concerned the current state of student employability in Malaysia. He discussed not only the issue of students being unemployed but also the problem of some students being underemployed.

During this session, Khairy Jamaluddin also mentioned that in 2015, he was assigned to be a mentor minister in IIUM and expressed his admiration for IIUM.

Although I™m not a graduate of IIUM, this place has a special place in my heart and I am very fond of IIUM. Says Khairy Jamaluddin .

In the second session, the moderator asked Khairy Jamaluddin to enlighten the audience on what are actually the values that students need to align with the current needs of the market. Here, Khairy Jamaluddin talks about what he would look for in an employee such as someone who does something without having the need for him to give the order.

People with people interaction is important and it’s such an underrated skill and this can be trained in university Khairy Jamaluddin added.

Before taking a short break, the moderator asked Khairy Jamaluddin for his advice on how can a student conform to the needs of the market and whether it is through revision of university’s syllabus or is there another way on how to approach this matter. 

œI don™t like seeing a complete change to the curriculum because it confuses people but I think it should stay ahead of time. Says Khairy Jamaluddin and further emphasise the importance of the improvement of the structure of experience that a student can gain in university such as gaining knowledge outside of the lectures. 

After the break, Khairy Jamaluddin was asked if he agrees with affirmative action, particularly one that favors women or people at disadvantage in general, in employment as a form of representation that manages to reduce discrimination in employment or help the concerned parties climbing the corporate ladder.

To answer this, he emphasise that he is for affirmative action because having a more diverse surrounding can give more perspective due to the different experiences based on race, gender and cultures.

The next question was on employability and marketability and which stakeholder is actually shouldering the responsibility to ensure students marketability or in other words, who should bear this responsibility. 

Khairy Jamaluddin has divided this issue into two roles which are equally important i.e. the responsibility on the supply side which are the students, schools, government providing education and the university and next, the responsibility on the demand side which are the employers and also the government and he further added that the government should create more complex jobs so that students won™t be underemployed.

Lastly, he was asked if he agrees that using employment rate as a key indicator to assess university’s quality and graduates’ marketability is equivalent to putting the needs of employers above the values of knowledge and whether this practice eventually put our education in the category of commercially-driven.

Khairy Jamaluddin gave his opinion on this issue by saying that a university is a place to gain knowledge but it should also be balanced in the sense that a university must also be a place that can make sure that a student can be ready for the job market. 

In a brief interview with IIUMToday after the event, Khairy Jamaluddin gave us his advice for those fresh graduate students that are struggling financially and mentally due to unemployment or underemployment.

On those struggling mental issues, Khairy Jamaluddi says, I think if you™re struggling mentally, you must reach out and not suffer alone and there are many hotlines that you can call.

If you have debt then please call Agensi Kaunseling & Pengurusan Kredit (AKPK) as they can help you and you can also reach out to government agencies that are offering assistance programs and loans. Search for ways for you to receive the support and intervention that you need. Khairy Jamaluddi added.***