He said the ministry was still gathering information on the effect of the Covid-19 on employment in certain sectors.

“We will know the actual number after the trade unions provide the full information through the Department of Labour and based on the Social Security Organisation’s Employment Insurance System,” he told reporters during the Human Resources Development Fund (HRDF) Chinese New Year celebration and Clients’ Day here today.

Several newspapers today quoted Malaysian Employers Federation executive director Shamsuddin Bardan as saying that up to 100,000 Malaysians could lose their jobs this year if the Covid-19 infection were to persist until the year-end.

Mahfuz said he had a meeting with tour bus drivers, especially those who handle tourists from China, and they were worried about losing their income due to the current Covid-19 threat.

“Although they are not being laid off yet, they have not been paid by their employers because no tourists are in need of their service,” he said, adding that the tourism industry is the worst affected by the Covid-19 infection.

Meanwhile, Mahfuz said HRDF would develop the Learning and Training Hub (LATiH), an online portal for companies to choose relevant training programmes for their respective company needs.