KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 18 — A total of 253,785 Malaysians have successfully found work so far this year through national employment portal MYFutureJobs, said Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan said.

He said the placements, undertaken by the Social Security Organisation (Socso), prove that the government has done its best to help the people.

This is especially after thousands of workers from various sectors including tourism and hospitality, aviation as well as construction, were severely impacted as a result of measures taken to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.

Recognising the fact that the people needed support from the government during that trying period, he said various other initiatives were also implemented by the government to ensure the people’s continued survival.

He said this includes Socso’s Wage Subsidy programme which had successfully rescued many local companies from winding up and workers losing their jobs and source of income.

Apart from that, Saravanan said the Socso Employment Insurance Scheme introduced in 2018 had also played a big role in protecting retrenched workers and ensuring financial stability during the pandemic period.

"Government initiatives like these have helped the country recover from the effects of the pandemic,” he said when officiating the Socso Media Awards Night which was also attended by Socso chief executive Datuk Sri Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed here tonight.

Meanwhile, Saravanan said the government was aware of the media’s role in highlighting the government’s initiatives to help those impacted by the pandemic.

"Contributions by media practitioners can never be repaid in any form. Your professionalism should be given due recognition.

"As such, I hope the event tonight, which is being held for the first time, will be the catalyst in strengthening the relationship between the Ministry of Human Resources and its agencies, especially Socso and the media,” he said. — Bernama