Blaming Mahathir's 'viciousness', DAP man tells Anwar to break Malay monopoly in civil service
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy says the 'old argument' of a need to counterbalance the Chinese domination of the economy is no longer valid.
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy says the 'old argument' of a need to counterbalance the Chinese domination of the economy is no longer valid.
Civil servants out on their lunch break at Presint 4, Putrajaya, in this Nov 24, 2022 file picture. Photo: Bernama
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to reform the civil service, saying the sector is currently dominated by the Malays due to what he said were policies implemented by former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"The old argument in favour of a Malay domination of the civil service to counterbalance the Chinese domination of the economy is no longer valid," the DAP leader said.
"This was among the arguments used by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to institutionalise Malay hegemony in the public sector, particularly the civil service," said Ramasamy, adding that there was also "covert racial discrimination" when it came to the prospect of promotions for non-Malays in the public sector.
Ramasamy said there had been a policy of "counterbalancing" Chinese economic dominance by bringing in foreign investors, as well as through the growth of government-linked companies.
"Given the diversification of the economy as to ownership and control, it doesn’t make sense to ensure that the civil service remains completely in the hands of the Malays.
"Such a racial policy cannot be defended anymore, not when the unity government is in power," he said, using the phrase to describe Anwar's coalition government, formed in the aftermath of the general election last year.
Adding that Anwar was aware of the need to break the Malays' monopoly of the civil service, Ramasamy said he did not agree with the excuse that non-Malays shy away from the civil service due to a lack of promotional prospects.
He said the current government must not pay lip service, but instead undo the policies which he said Mahathir had introduced.
"Ideologically, there is no love lost between Anwar and Mahathir, but surely Anwar should not forget that undermining the viciousness of Mahathirism begins by reforming the civil service, among others.
"The reformist agenda under the unity government might be submerged, but with Pakatan Harapan as the anchor, there is no running away from what was promised to the rakyat."
Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy has urged Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to reform the civil service, saying the sector is currently dominated by the Malays due to what he said were policies implemented by former leader Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
"The old argument in favour of a Malay domination of the civil service to counterbalance the Chinese domination of the economy is no longer valid," the DAP leader said.
"This was among the arguments used by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to institutionalise Malay hegemony in the public sector, particularly the civil service," said Ramasamy, adding that there was also "covert racial discrimination" when it came to the prospect of promotions for non-Malays in the public sector.
Ramasamy said there had been a policy of "counterbalancing" Chinese economic dominance by bringing in foreign investors, as well as through the growth of government-linked companies.
"Given the diversification of the economy as to ownership and control, it doesn’t make sense to ensure that the civil service remains completely in the hands of the Malays.
"Such a racial policy cannot be defended anymore, not when the unity government is in power," he said, using the phrase to describe Anwar's coalition government, formed in the aftermath of the general election last year.
Adding that Anwar was aware of the need to break the Malays' monopoly of the civil service, Ramasamy said he did not agree with the excuse that non-Malays shy away from the civil service due to a lack of promotional prospects.
He said the current government must not pay lip service, but instead undo the policies which he said Mahathir had introduced.
"Ideologically, there is no love lost between Anwar and Mahathir, but surely Anwar should not forget that undermining the viciousness of Mahathirism begins by reforming the civil service, among others.
"The reformist agenda under the unity government might be submerged, but with Pakatan Harapan as the anchor, there is no running away from what was promised to the rakyat."
I would be surprised if Anwar would agree with Ramasamy's idea of breaking the Malay monopoly of the civil service.
ReplyDeleteWe can all see the civil service has been used to provide safe habour for malays. And the civil service has been used as the safe deposit of UMNO. Perhaps this has been diluted by PN but the malay-majority civil service is a very important vote bank for any party or coalition that wants to win malay votes.
If Anwar were to do as suggested, PN especially PAS will have a field day about how malays are being marginalised. This will becone a racial issue and PH will lose more ground with the malays.
It's the old adage - you can break things easily, but difficult to repair it back.
ReplyDeleteA few days ago the Sarawak Premier, Abang Johari Openg was reported to have said that the low salary was the main reason that deterred non-Malays from joining the public service. I wish to know if our Hon. Sarawak Premier got his facts wrong or that he was in denial. He hopes that more non-Malays would join the civil service to correct the present imbalance. Let me tell him that the generally low pay that had existed in the public service ended when the Abdullah Badawi administration (circa 2006) made drastic changes and revamped the salaries of the 1.2 civil servants. Since then the civil servants of this country have been receiving good salaries which are generally better than what their private sector counterparts receive. Please compare how much an office boy in a government department gets with that of an office boy in a bank (and he has no pension!) When the President of Cuepacs announces that the salaries of the public servants are still low and they are in dire straits, because of inflation (and that the government needs to revise their salaries, if possible every year!) or else they will go bankrupt, he forgets to mention that the 1.6 million civil servants receive various monthly allowances (which are not taxable) apart from their basic salaries. May I ask the office boy of the bank if he receives monthly allowances?
ReplyDelete