For generations, higher education functioned as a cornerstone of the Malaysian social contract. A tertiary degree, achieved through rigorous academic adherence, effectively guaranteed upward socioeconomic mobility and entry into the professional middle class.
Today, however, structural shifts induced by advanced automation and artificial intelligence have fundamentally fractured this predictable linear trajectory.
While aggregate macroeconomic indicators present a resilient domestic economy, micro-level data from the labour market reveals a systemic disruption. The proliferation of generative AI tools has effectively dismantled the entry-level tier of corporate employment, placing the return on investment of a traditional university degree under severe scrutiny.
