What would you do to best cope with the rising cost of living in Malaysia? One minister made a wild, out-of-nowhere suggestion for Malaysians to “work 2 jobs” to earn a higher income.
Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Ahmad Maslan then went on to strengthen his claim by adding that he himself has 3 jobs – member of Parliament, Deputy Minister in the International Trade and Industry, and UMNO information chief.
Needless to say, his tweets above was met with a slew of negative response from Malaysians. Many have taken to social media to call out Ahmad Maslan for being counterproductive for a minister as he was not providing workable solutions, but making suggestions that would further burden Malaysians.
The Star Online quoted school bus driver Premala as saying, “Driving children to school in the morning, taking them home and then doing the rounds for afternoon school besides taking care of my children takes a lot out of me. I am exhausted every day. Even when people offered me a second job to drive students to an international school, I said no. I would be rushing around and putting the lives of the children in danger.”
Local comedian Harith Iskander also took to his Facebook page to give his 2 cents on “2 Kerja”. The man has a point, we say:
Ahmad Maslan later retracted his “suggestion” after #2Kerja blew up on social media and said that he meant it “in the context of having an online business on top of a day job”.
Nevertheless, the point here is that each person’s current day job has its own scope and not everyone can juggle working 2 jobs. For example, a person in the (often demanding) advertising field would probably struggle with 2 jobs because of the commitment (in terms of free time/hours) it requires. And even if someone can cope with 2 jobs, what does it do for the welfare of said person and his/her family?
What do you guys think? Let us know!
Sources: Astro Awani, FMT, TMI, The Star Online / Featured image from eventplanner.
