Unfair intakes and promotions in the Civil Service?

By Simon Peter

KUCHING, May 11, 2014: Pending State Legislator Violet Yong Wui Wui may have hit the nail on the head when she talked about the racial compositions in the Civil Service at the State Legislative Assembly last Friday.

She claimed about unfair intakes and unfair promotions in the Civil Service, which, she alleged, was a common knowledge on which not much was done to change the situation.

"I was made to understand that promotion exercise is very racially lopsided in the civil service. And if it was done it was through connection and rarely through merits, leaving many (people) were not keen to join the government services," Yong said when debating the Governor's Royal Address.

She added:" It is a known fact that there is a fear of injustice in promotion and job division, which put many off in joining the civil service.

"The most powerful man in the world, President of the United States, Barrack Obama hit the nail on the head during a town hall session with the ASEAN Youth in Kuala Lumpur when he said and I quote  "Malaysian wouldn't  succeed if the non-Muslims do not have the same opportunity and that non-Muslims in Malaysia are currently facing hostility and some have felt oppressed."

"Obama further said and I quote "There should not be any reason to discriminate so the people could be brought together rather than be driven apart‟ .

"Even within a few days in Malaysia, Obama could pick up something that has gone very wrong in Malaysia.

"Thus, this is the time for the government to correct what is wrong to right, that is, to restructure the civil service and to increase a more balanced racial participation to ensure unity for all and to understand one another better rather than (to have) a lopsided composition in the civil service.

"It is an open secret that when you walk into the government department, be it a federal or state department, it is sparkling clear that there is a vast imbalance of the positions working behind the counters.

"Even our own Dayak Bumiputeras  are left out in civil service every time (there is a recruitment and promotion)," Yong said.

She urged Chief Minister Adenan Satem to start the ball rolling by ensuring that there is a balanced racial compositions working in all the state department.

She said that among the departments that show imbalanced compositions are the Land Survey Department, State Welfare Department, District Offices, District Councils and Yayasan Sarawak.

"The Chief Minister should see to it that promotion in the civil service is fair and based on meritocracy rather than on skin colour," she said, adding that Sarawak, being a multi racial state, should show  a good and healthy example where there is a mixture of all the races in the civil service instead of one exclusive race.

"Through balanced racial composition in the civil service it would actually help to explain the policy of the government well in many languages or dialect. Our society should be inclusive and not exclusive," she added.