KUALA LUMPUR: Sipitang Member of Parliament, Datuk Matbali Musah, has called on the Ministry of Human Resources (KESUMA) to delineate strategies aimed at reducing the unemployment rate in Sabah.
While debating the Employment Insurance System (SIP) Bill in the Dewan Rakyat today, he stated that the state government is implementing various initiatives to tackle this unemployment issue.
He mentioned that the State Government, through the Sabah Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation (KSTI), is actively conducting job matching programs and labor education outreach across the state.
“This is due to the current main challenge being the gap between the skills of job seekers (particularly youth and graduates) and the demands of the digital industry and high-value industries that are growing in Sabah,” he said.
Matbali noted that according to the latest report from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) published in May/June 2026, the labor market in Sabah is showing a positive recovery trend.
He stated that the unemployment rate in Sabah for the First Quarter of 2026 has decreased to 5.5 percent compared to 6.0 percent in the Fourth Quarter of 2025.
“Although this rate is still considered high when compared to the national average (around 2.9 percent), it represents a significant decrease for Sabah over the past few years.
“For instance, in 2021 post-pandemic, the rate was at 8.2 percent, then it dropped to 7.6 percent in 2024.
“In the fourth quarter of 2025, it recorded 6 percent, and in the first quarter of this year, it further decreased to 5.5 percent,” he said.
Additionally, he fully supports the SIP Bill as it serves as a safety net for workers who have lost their jobs.
Matbali stated that the SIP introduced through PERKESO demonstrates that the government is not abandoning workers who lose their jobs.
He believes that this bill can strengthen the social safety net in the country.
