The Finance Ministry has decided to freeze the intake of new recruits in the public sector, effective 1st March. The move has been strongly opposed by the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (CUEPACS) on the basis that it will lead to increased unemployment among SPM school leavers. Should our government be acting as an employer of last resort? Is the freeze merely an accounting exercise by the Ministry, or is it driven by more compelling reasons?

This is a report by Aisyah Tajuddin and Tan Yuen Yuen.