Kuala Lampur, Nov. 20 -- Malaysia's labour market tells a story that is both encouraging and sobering. In 2024, the number of university and college graduates reached nearly six million. The official unemployment rate among them fell to 3.2 per cent, a modest improvement from the year before. Almost five million graduates now hold jobs, and more than 60 per cent of fresh graduates find work within three months of leaving campus. On paper, the system appears to be working.

Yet beneath these headline numbers lies a deeper, more persistent problem. The Labour Force Statistics Q3 reported that more than one in three employed degree and diploma holders (roughly 1.96 million people) are working in jobs that require only low or semi-skilled lab...