'I don't see a need to lay off employees when Pos Malaysia adopts AI,' minister says
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil has assured employees of Pos Malaysia Bhd that the adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) technology will not lead to job losses within the company.
Speaking at the World Post Day celebrations, Fahmi told the 18,000 postmen of Pos Malaysia that they do not have anything to worry about.
"When Pos Malaysia adopts AI in its services, it will not replace your jobs for deliveries. In fact, the use of robots and drones is still too costly for us. So, don't worry about being replaced or losing your jobs," the minister said as quoted by New Straits Times.
Fahmi further emphasised that AI is being introduced to enhance operations, not to replace human workers, according to the report.
"AI should be utilised by Pos Malaysia to resolve issues, not just to manage social media comments but also to address operational matters," he said.
"This is similar to the method used by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, which now employs AI to handle network disruption complaints."
Will AI replace employees?
The remarks came amid growing job insecurity across the workforce following the rise of AI in workplaces.
Former Human Resources Minister V. Sivakumar even stressed last year that Malaysia needs to retrain 50% of the country's workforce following warnings that 4.5 million Malaysians could lose their jobs in the wake of AI.
"With the advent of Industrial Revolution 4.0, there is an urgent need for us to transform the national workforce into a skilled workforce to remain relevant," Sivakumar said last year.
But Fahmi's remarks stressed that the implementation of AI at Pos Malaysia is to optimise the workforce rather than replace it.
"It is aimed at making tasks more efficient while improving service quality. Therefore, I don't see a need to lay off employees when Pos Malaysia adopts AI," he told reporters in a later press conference.
"Technology can be adapted for tasks such as data analysis. AI can perform certain functions, particularly in management aspects, but not in logistics. We don't foresee jobs being lost, although job scopes may evolve."
