Ex-MP calls for action on Indian share of civil service jobs

 Charles Santiago says around 85,000 Indian officers would be needed for the civil service to reflect the proportion of Indians in the national population.

Charles Santiago said the government has a responsibility to close that gap and should fund targeted upskilling programmes and courses.

PETALING JAYA:

The civil service needs to take in about 85,000 Indian officers in order to reflect the proportion of the Indian community in the population, former Klang MP Charles Santiago said today.

He urged the government to set a deadline to ensure an equitable Indian representation in the civil service following a disclosure in Parliament last month that there are 47,349 Indians among the 1.3 million civil servants, or only 3.63% of the total number, although the Indian community makes up about 6.5% of the population.

“It is about 37,000 short. The government owes the community an explanation for why the number is this low,” he said. Santiago said that from 2021 to 2025, only 5,289 of the 194,807 applications submitted by Indians to the Public Services Commission resulted in appointments.

“The public should know what criteria are used and whether every community is shortlisted at the same rate. Merit cannot be used to explain away these numbers while the process behind them stays opaque,” he said.

Santiago said if applicants are being turned away for being underqualified, the government has a responsibility to close that gap and should fund targeted upskilling programmes and courses. - FMT