Youth unemployment is set to pose pressing challenges for Malaysia in the near future, said academic Lee Hwok Aun. His recent analysis indicated that high unemployment figures among young Sabahans and Indians were a cause for concern.

Lee, who is a senior fellow and co-coordinator at ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore, pointed to structural problems deriving from low quality of education, skills mismatch, and low-quality jobs.

He said those factors had stressed labour markets in recent years, and he warned that there are trends in certain sectors that could be compounded by an imminent recession sparked by...