Muzaffar Abdul Hamid of the Malaysia Productivity Corporation (MPC), said despite spending years studying STEM subjects, graduates would only be able to start with a salary of RM1,700.

The country’s minimum wage stands at RM1,500.

He said in Singapore, on the other hand, an integrated circuit (IC) design engineer can command a starting salary of S$6,000.

“That’s almost RM20,000,” he said at the 11th Malaysia Statistics Conference here today.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim had in March expressed concern over the decreasing interest in STEM subjects, noting the shortage of skilled engineers.

And in June, Anwar called for “adjustments” to the education system, saying there is a greater need to focus on STEM subjects.

Meanwhile, Muzaffar said there was a need to change the “way we do things”, especially in light of the country’s target to achieve a 40% skilled workforce by 2030.

He said there was a need to emulate Singapore when it comes to up-skilling and compensating the workforce fairly.

“People say when we up-skill workers they run away. This is where they need to compensate fairly.”

He also said some level of intervention was needed in schools to create interest in skilled jobs.

And if the education sector could work closely with industries, the government would be guaranteed a constant supply of skilled workforce.

“We need to ensure Malaysia always has a continuous supply of skilled workers to help with industry expansion and growth.

“We can then also attract more high-value investments (when such a workforce is available) and when that happens, we can create high-paying jobs for Malaysians.”