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Amid recent comments by the former Bank Negara Malaysia governor on stagnant graduate wages, a fresh graduate from Kelantan has voiced her frustrations about the harsh job market in her home state
"The reality of living in Kelantan is that it's so difficult to find a job! I want to stay with my family, but I've been unemployed for two months despite going for many interviews.
"Am I overqualified? I only have a degree. I'm just asking for a standard RM2,000 salary, but even that, I can't get. Please Kelantan… do better," she wrote in a post on Threads.
Her post has since garnered over 120,000 views and sparked a widespread discussion among fellow Malaysians, who echoed similar struggles.
Image via Threads
Image via Drazen Zigic/Freepik
Many agreed, and added on that the issue isn't just the low pay, but it's also the unreasonable expectations placed on employees
Image via Threads
"Kelantan job ads be like: Must be expert in multiple areas, have more than four years of experience, minimum bachelor's degree, job scope includes responsibility for everything, and still only offer RM1,500 to RM1,999," one person commented.
Another shared, "A friend of mine was offered RM2,000 for an engineering role. It's so disheartening. We studied so hard for our degrees, and this is all we get."
However, others told her it was merely the sad reality of finding work in Kelantan, and encouraged her to consider job opportunities beyond the state
Someone pointed out, "Even a RM2,000 salary is high for Kelantan. When the basic used to be RM1,500, I tried asking for RM1,700 and got nothing too. It's sad here. Degree holders get paid the same as SPM leavers."
"Move out of town, sis. It's not that Kelantan isn't good, but without connections, it's hard to compete. Unless you really don't mind any kind of work," said another.
Image via Threads
Nadheerah shared with SAYS that she applied across various industries, including retail, banking, and property, not just in her field of communications, knowing how limited job opportunities are in Kelantan.
Yet, she hasn't received any responses.
The 24-year-old Mass Communications graduate also expressed frustration over what she sees as unrealistic expectations for fresh grads.
"Most entry-level jobs here ask for three to four years of experience. Why can't they give us a chance?" she said.
With no offers in sight, Nadheerah admitted that she may have to consider moving out to a bigger city in hopes of securing a decent salary and building her career.
