UNEMPLOYMENT NOT A MAJOR PROBLEM IN M'SIA, SAYS MINISTER

SHAH ALAM (Malaysia), June 15 (Bernama) -- Minister in the Prime Minister's
Department Nor Mohamed Yakcop said Monday that unemployment was not a serious
problem in Malaysia at this point of time.

"Unemployment hasn't really gone up, we are used to unemployment level
between two and three percent. We expected during this crisis it may go up to
four to four and a half percent but unemployment today has not become a
major problem," he stressed.

Nor Mohamed said this during a press conference here in conjunction
with his official visit to the Selangor Human Resource Development
Centre(SHRDC).

He said although there were some workers who had been asked to take the
Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) or take long leave, that situation could be a
blessing in disguise as it could provide the workers an opportunity to undergo
retraining at training centres throughout the country including at the SHRDC.

The Malaysian work force would be ready and in a better position when the
economy gets up again, he added.

Many countries are expecting their economic performances to improve in the
second half of the year and some might even register some low positive growth.

Nor Mohamed said: "We are also confident that our second half (year) would
be better. Actually you can see it is reflected in the stock market ... it
(Composite Index) has gone back to 1,000 over."

The stock market is not only about the prices and the value created in the
market but is also indicative of the level of confidence in the economy, he
pointed out.
-- BERNAMA