"The pride of securing a degree would not be badly dented when graduates, who often have lofty hopes of gaining suitable employment soon after leaving universities or colleges, possessed the necessary skills and knowledge, said Member of Parliament for Bintulu Dato' Seri Tiong King Sing JP.

Speaking at the launching of EXPO Entre-Putra organized by Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus, at the Bintulu Esplande yesterday, Tiong said more often than not, the deree that they secured might not be enough to land any job despite relentless employment search.

Tiong urged graduates to discard any sense of superiority complex and the tendency to over-rate themselves in the employment market.

"Undergranduates must not be complacent in what they achieved especially to pursue other relevant courses," he said adding that the employment market was first becoming more competitive as more graduates entered the job market.

According to him, when the competition became really intense then only the highly qualified and highly skilled graduates would be able to land a job.

Tiong also threw a wind of coution for graduates who completed their degree to keep cool heads.

"Do not be arrogant especially when mingling with the community," he said adding that although graduates might have the paper qualification, they too needed to curve especially from elders and experienced people in the society.

He lauded the efforts by the University Putra Malaysia Bintulu Campus for organizing then event that could expose the undergraduates to the rigous of the business world.

Later Tiong also announced a grant of RM10,000 to assit UMPKB i