'BN broke GE promise to contract civil servants'

A group of opposition MPs have accused the government of breaking its election manifesto pledge by not providing permanent job opportunities to contracted civil servants.

DAP's Batu Kawan MP Kashturi Patto (right) said that Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim's announcement that contracted civil servants won't be given permanent positions goes directly against the ruling coalition’s manifesto pledge.

In its election manifesto, BN said that qualified civil servants will be absorbed as permanent staff from their contractual positions.

There are nearly 50,000 civil servants who are under contract.

"What will happen to these workers when their contracts end in December 2014?" Kashturi asked during a press conference in the Parliament lobby today.

"This is a case of Janji Tak Ditepati (Promise not fulfilled)," she said.

Meanwhile, her DAP colleague, Batu Gajah MP V Sivakumar claimed that there are about 200,000 interim teachers in Tamil schools nationwide who were also promised that they will be absorbed as permanent staff by the government.

"This is a promise made before elections. So now these 200,000 teachers have been deceived," Sivakumar noted.

Also at the press conference was PKR's Kuala Langat MP Abdullah Sani Abdul Hamid.