The National Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (NCCIM) applauds the call by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Khairy Jamaluddin, at a recent seminar in Kuala Lumpur, that it is imperative for Malaysia to place strategic emphasis in getting the nation’s workplace environment to be aligned to the changing trends in workplace culture; and special emphasis be given in the optimisation of the potential of young employees in contributing towards the nation’s economic health.
“The Minister asserted that in today’s knowledge based economy, quantitative and qualitative aspects of work and its output are crucial to the nation; and it would require the efforts of Government, Private Sector and all other stakeholders to assume a role towards yielding this end,” said the secretary general of National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Malaysia Dato Sri Syed Hussein Al Habshee.
In illustrating his assertion, the Minister had cited the classic example of the civil service’s “Coffee and Nasi Lemak break” as the incidence of “economic waste and inefficiency” – where he also emphasised that in addition to mere “working hours”, “productivity and output in pursuit of its laid objectives” are of strategic priority,” he added.
Further to the Minister’s call, NCCIM believes that the government can take the lead by example to commence the process to yield changes. An immediate positive step towards this end, would be a revamp of the civil service’s practice of the “Coffee and Nasi Lemak Break”, which is rampant across Ministries and government agencies.
