No racism in civil service hire? Utter baloney, NGO scoffs at Gov’t!

No racism in civil service hire? Utter baloney, NGO scoffs at Gov’t!




THE Malaysian Indian Voice (MIV) criticised Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Datuk Abd Latiff Ahmad for saying that there is no racism when it comes to hiring at the civil service.

“His statement is both hilarious and upsetting at the same time. It’s akin to Latiff riding an elephant but vehemently declaring there is no such thing as an elephant at the same time,” its chairman V Pappa Raidu told FocusM.

In reply to the Parliament, Latiff said that as of July 5, 90% of the civil service comprise of bumiputeras.

Giving a breakdown, he added that 987,333 of the comprised of Malays, 73,190 Chinese, 60,084 Sarawak bumiputeras, 59,978 Sabah bumiputeras, 47,751 Indians, 2,417 Orang Asli and 8,698 others.

For the top posts (super scale) above the Grade 56 category, 3,300 are Malays, 386 Chinese, 240 Indians, 74 Sabah bumiputeras, 53 Sarawak bumiputeras, three Orang Asli and 42 others.

“All recruitment by the Public Services Commission is based on merit and competency. This is to ensure only the best and quality candidates are chosen as civil servants.

“There is no quota based on race and ethnicity in the intake or promotion of civil servants. All Malaysians are given equal opportunity as it is based on open and fair competition,” Free Malaysia Today reported him as saying.

Touching on the matter, Pappa Raidu said before the 1980s, non-Malays, particularly the Indian community, held key positions in certain areas of the civil service such as Customs, railway and the Royal Malaysian Navy.

Acknowledge the problem

However, he noted that as years went by, all non-Malays holding key Government posts were systematically replaced with those from the bumiputera community, once they retire.

“Even now, I know of many cases where non-Malays don’t even get interview calls after applying for jobs at the civil service.

“Just look at the top posts of the Malaysian civil service and you will hardly see non-Malays there. Plus, there are also cases where junior officers get their promotions fast-tracked while non-Malays who had been working there for decades remain at the same post.

“That is why many non-Malays nowadays are refusing to join the civil service. They are aware that upward mobility for them is near impossible,” Pappa Raidu lamented.

He remarked: “The Government should take the racial imbalance issue at the civil service and act on it.

“And they can start by acknowledging it as a serious problem and enact policies to rectify the situation.” – July 21, 2022