High income, low awareness: The dilemma of seafaring jobs in Malaysia

SHAH ALAM - A career as a seafarer can be lucrative, with salaries ranging from RM20,000 to hundreds of thousands of ringgit per month. However, the number of local young people entering the profession still needs to improve due to several factors, including a lack of English proficiency and knowledge of the field.

Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT) Maritime expert Associate Professor Dr Jagan Jeevan said that English proficiency is essential for seafarers, as they will travel abroad and interact with foreign colleagues. He said that some students in secondary school and higher education institutions need to prioritise the importance of mastering the language, which can prevent them from meeting the qualifications for a career as a sailor.

"Our people have to compete closely with foreign sailors, especially those from the Philippines.

"Young people are also given less exposure to the career scope of a sailor, which can make them unclear about the opportunities available. In schools and universities, we prioritise other careers such as marketing, management, accounting, medicine, and law," he told Sinar.

According to Jagan, a career as a sailor requires mastery of science subjects and a healthy body that is free from color blindness.

He also said that sailors typically use specialised English terms that require a strong foundation in the language.

Eaglestar shipping company chief engineer T Suriya, 44, said that the seafaring industry in Malaysia still needs to be well-known to the public, due to a lack of exposure to the career, especially among the younger generation.

"Our people still have not received extensive exposure to this field. I was also involved in the interview process of students for the admission of new cadets.

"So most of the incoming cadets, like me 25 years ago, don't know anything about a seaman's career," he said.

Suriya, who has 22 years of experience in the field, said that a career as a sailor is less popular than other professions, such as being a policeman or a doctor, even though it offers a high income and the potential to thrive overseas.

"If it's like a captain or chief engineer for a ship that transports Liquid Natural Gas (LNG), the salary can be more than US$100,000 (RM452,716.57) a year.

"The salary is fine, but people still don't know about this job," he said.