About 67 per cent or 6,771 out of a total of 10,072 Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) veterans managed to secure employment through the Ex-Servicemen Affairs Corporation (Perhebat) transitional training programmes.
Perhebat Finance and Accounts Division director Zaidah Mohd said the number involved those who completed training from 2018 to 2022 by venturing through six transitional training options.
She said the options offered were related to agriculture, security, manufacturing and services, adding that some of the veterans were able to earn a monthly income of between RM3,000 and RM5,000.
“Out of the 67 per cent, 1,789 individuals chose to work for an employer and most of them could earn up to RM3,000 a month, while 3,813 others chose to be involved in entrepreneurship earning an average monthly income of RM3,000.
“In addition, 1,169 members who are entrepreneurs running their own companies are able to earn up to RM5,000 a month,” she told reporters when met at Perhebat Certificate Presentation Ceremony at the Kelantan Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) Office, here today.
Elaborating, Zaidah said to make the veterans more marketable, Perhebat established collaborations with several government and private agencies including the Skills Development Department (JPK), the Malaysian Digital Economy Corporation and so forth.
She said starting in 2021, Perhebat also implemented several transformational measures on training that are carried out between six to 18 months, where the trainees would be monitored for five years after retirement.
“Before this Perhebat could only train less than 25 per cent of the number who are about to retire, but now it is able to train over 90 per cent.
“In fact, the transformation measures along with our cooperation with various government and private agencies as an added value, are in line with the Ministry of Defence’s aspiration to empower this group,” she said.
Yesterday, the media reported that the Ministry of Defence will establish a special committee to ensure Perhebat continues to proactively strengthen its curriculum and delivery of training programmes for MAF veterans.
Source: BERNAMA News Agency