Dear Malaysia Baru, say 'no' to nepotism

 'A' has been working in Department X of a GLC for almost ten years. He and a few of his colleagues aren’t happy with their jobs because they feel overloaded with tasks and responsibilities. Discussions with their supervisor regarding the matter often fall on deaf ears.

At one point, A's supervisor of A took in a new employee under the recommendation of a politician. However, the new addition did not help to ease the workload of A and his colleagues.

This was because the new employee had no expertise regarding the work, and also did not see the need to gain knowledge in order to contribute to the work in the future.

Not too long after that, Department Y of the same GLC took in another new employee, also recommended by the same politician. He too wasn’t the best candidate for the job he was appointed to do. 

Since there was no one else in Department Y who could be entrusted to get the job done, the supervisor of Department Y contacted the supervisor of Department X, seeking assistance. A was sent over to get the job done.

Overworked and unappreciated and with no professionalism at his workplace, A became distressed. He finally pulled the plug and sent in his resignation letter.

Last month, A, who is still jobless, was contacted by his old colleagues from Department X. They informed A that the new employee was appointed to fill in his old position, under the recommendation of the same politician. 

'Who you know'

Guess what? The new employee, too, had no credentials for the job.

Realising they would be the ones ending up getting the job done on behalf of the new employee, A's colleagues plan to leave their jobs as well.

In case you are wondering, the story of A is not fictional. The politician who abused his power in the story is also real – in fact, he is still occupying his office in a state government. 

Of course, A and his colleagues aren’t the only victims of nepotism occurring in their workplace.

Today, there are many politicians using their positions to favour friends, families, relatives and acquaintances with job opportunities and promotions, thus denying talented candidates their career opportunities. 

So much so, the phrase “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know” has become so common in our society.

Nepotism is wrong. Nepotism can highly damage a working environment. And nepotism can cause the government and government-linked companies to lose good, skillful and talented employees like how they did with A (and perhaps A’s colleagues, too, in the future).

With the current government banning ministers and deputy ministers from abusing their powers by issuing supporting letters for tenders and proposals, I hope they would also take into consideration banning ministers, deputy ministers, MPs and other influential politicians from issuing recommendation letters supporting job applications and promotions by their kin.

On top of that, if the practice of nepotism still does take place, the public should be given a channel to make direct complaints.

If the new elected Pakatan Harapan government intends to introduce good administration practices, I suggest they do it thoroughly.

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FA ABDUL is a passionate storyteller, a growing media trainer, an aspiring playwright, a regular director, a struggling producer, a self-acclaimed photographer, an expert Facebooker, a lazy blogger, a part-time queen and a full-time vainpot. - Mkini