Budgeting My Unemployment

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose

theSun, Malaysia

October 21st, 2010

Ironically when the 2011 Budget was being read out, I was busy looking at my finances and budgeting my unemployment.

 

No, I did not get fired and no theSun is not my full-time employer (in case you’re wondering). I must admit I was glad someone had money as I looked at my depleting bank balance.

The 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEA) are going to generate more than RM1.3 trillion and create 3.3 million jobs. Perhaps I could have one of those jobs. Let’s just say this budget cared that I owned my own home and that my shopping habit was being fed especially since I’m sure the new Warisan Merdeka would house yet another much needed shopping mall. Basically it was “enhancing” my quality of life.

So, back to my unemployment status. Over a year ago, I resigned and headed back to university to re-equip myself. The British government was kind enough to indulge in my wants and off I went back to “studenthood” and now upon completion I’m scouring the newspapers, clicking every employment/careers/opportunity tab on websites, looking for a job.

It has been a while since I’ve had to look for a job. I served my previous boss for almost six years and before that, well, we don’t need to go into too much detail unless you’re a potential employer of course! So though I decided to head back to university not to reinvent myself but rather enhance my skills in the hope of further advancing my career and contributing back to Malaysia, I find myself in the very unfortunate position of being unemployed.

There are a few of us in this conundrum- Malaysians wanting to head back home and work, as a result, as we hunt for potential jobs, we pass on anything that might suit another, but all we keep coming up against are some what ridiculous requirements. So much so, some job advertisements strangely resemble marriage requirements of more traditional societies.

Once such advertisement on a famous Malaysian employment website under the education section was for a PA to a Datin. The position requires the potential candidate preferably be single, female, between the ages of 27-45, look pleasant but be aggressive, strong, hard working and posses 3 years relevant experience. Not only must this candidate speak both Malay and English well, speaking Cantonese or Mandarin is an asset and to top it all, a photo must be included in the application. I would say this comes very to close an arrange marriage ‘application’.

Another application required the candidate to basically jump over the moon for pittance requiring him or her to come up with an unreasonable number of publications within the year which can only humanly be done if one were to duplicate someone else’s research which took years to complete. The deadline for this application is at the end of the month but in brackets it states till the position is filled. Perhaps, these employers too know that cats only play the fiddle in fairytales.

Some organisations’ detailed, long, personal history form requires the educational background of my parents and all my siblings on top of their employment history. Not only is my family being vetted, I have to provide the names and contact details of three referees not to mention starting and ending salary history. All this part of an application without the guarantee of an interview and since I’m unemployed I have the time to sit down and painstakingly volunteer such information.

So here I am, wondering if my new qualification will advance my career and if heading home under these circumstances is the best option. It’s not only about getting a job, it’s about being able to have a decent living, to be compensated for my abilities and be able to walk down a street without being wolf-whistled or my bag snatched.

Perhaps the Economic Transformation Programme that is set to create 3.3 million jobs might woo us back home but then again, this year’s budget alone will allow me to afford shampoo, perfume, talcum powder and lingerie while I wait for employment!

Natalie hopes to be employed soon but is accepting funds in the mean time.

Comments: letter@thesundaily.com

My Half Of The Sky

By Natalie Shobana Ambrose
theSun, Malaysia
October 6th, 2010

Every century has been marred by ghastly injustices that perhaps today make little sense why they were even allowed to occur. Slavery in America, ethnic cleansing in Nazi camps, Pol Pot’s regime, genocide in Bosnia and Rwanda – this list sadly has too many entries. One of the 20th century’s moral challenges was battling totalitarianism that saw the falling of dictatorships and the rising of democracy – a challenge that continues into the 21st century. However, this century though working on the challenges of the past, has its own challenge – battling inequality.

A book I’ve been reading entitled after the Chinese proverb "Women hold up half the sky", talks about the injustices endured by women. For more developed countries it may be unequal pay, while for countries struggling to develop, these injustices might mean, honour killings, or not having the same access to medication or education because they are girls.

Malaysia has its share of gender inequalities. However, according to the New York Times Malaysia has made inroads in enabling women to progress particularly in financial sectors citing examples such as Tan Sri Dr Zeti Akhtar Aziz, governor of Bank Negara, while Jamelah Jamaludin can boast of being the first woman to head an Islamic bank. The list for Malaysia in this sector is extensive including Fozia Amanulla who heads Eoncap Islamic Bank and Raja Teh Maimunah Raja Abdul Aziz, Bursa Malaysia’s global head in Islamic markets.

So maybe for Malaysia, gender equality is not our biggest moral challenge. Perhaps our half of the sky is segregated more by race and less by gender.

Countries such as India have recognised one main contributing factor to China’s economic boom has been a shift in gender inequality and providing opportunity by merit. China has realised the benefits of educating females and giving them the autonomy to run businesses instead of the suppression faced in the past where babies were not favoured to say the least. India is trying to follow suit admitting their shortcomings in not using their half of the sky sooner.

If the problem in Malaysia is race-based inequality, perhaps we should shift our mentality as these countries are trying to and work towards equality in providing education based on merit not race, create job opportunities based on capability not race, construct and review policies based on value not race. Perhaps then we would be able to increase our growth while enticing qualified Malaysians thriving in foreign lands to contribute to the country that raised them. Right now, we have little with which to entice them to return and much pushing them further away.

What we offer are racist comments allowed to be uttered in school corridors right to the corridors of Parliament, a rapidly segmented mono-cultural social strata and elite race-based organisations that occasionally leak how deep the reaches of racism in this country truly are. The excuse that racism is an anomaly is far from the truth especially when most things are divided by race. Why then would one stay knowing there is a limit to what they can achieve no matter how good they are or how hard they work?

Just like gender inequality impedes economic growth, using half the Malaysian sky only damages Malaysia’s own growth in the long run. As it is, our foreign direct investment has plummeted rapidly while international figures such as Sir Richard Branson and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales have identified stumbling blocks hindering our country’s progress.

The question then is can we afford to ignore half the Malaysian sky? I believe the answer is a strong NO.

Natalie has been moved after reading Half the Sky – How to Change the World by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn.

Comments: letters@thesundaily.com