Abstract
In 2020, 202,400 from 5.36 million graduates in Malaysia were unemployed. Although the unemployment may have happened mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic and various Movement Control Order (MCO), 16,000 of them were already unemployed for more than a year. The situation has raised a question as to why they did not become entrepreneurs. Hence, the researcher interviewed seven Bumiputera graduate entrepreneurs to understand the sociological aspects impacting the business endeavours among the graduates. The sampling techniques used were purposive and snowball sampling techniques. The researcher found that the ultimate reason for getting into universities is to be employed, not to do business. Bumiputera also does not have entrepreneurial culture. Instead, they have a culture of working for others. Although most participants were aware that social status is important for social networks that are crucial for business development, some thought that it is not essential for them because they only want to do business just to survive. Their past working experience also played a vital role in leading them to become entrepreneurs.
Highlights
Entrepreneurship offers excellent advantages such as creating new markets, facilitating economic development, and solving unemployment issues (Dragan et al, 2013; L. Hamilton & Klerk, 2016; Marzuki et al, 2016; Muhammad, 2017)
The interviews with the seven Bumiputera graduate entrepreneurs showed that sociological factors could have an impact on Bumiputera graduate entrepreneurs' business endeavour
Getting into universities is not just culture in the society, but it is like a necessary life course stage of individuals belonging to Bumiputera society
Summary
Entrepreneurship offers excellent advantages such as creating new markets, facilitating economic development, and solving unemployment issues (Dragan et al, 2013; L. Hamilton & Klerk, 2016; Marzuki et al, 2016; Muhammad, 2017). In 2020, 202,400 from 5.36 million graduates in Malaysia were unemployed, and 23,500 of them were unemployed for six to twelve months (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2021a). The unemployment may have happened mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic and various Movement Control Order (MCO), 16,000 of them were already unemployed for more than a year (Department of Statistics Malaysia, 2021a), instead of becoming entrepreneurs. It would be even more challenging for the government to encourage more entrepreneurial activities among the educated Bumiputera because entrepreneurship itself appears to be not the desired career choice among the Bumiputera. Former Deputy Minister of Entrepreneur Development Datuk Wira Mohd Hatta attributed the situation to the Bumiputera overt www.msocialsciences.com
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