How minorities are underrepresented in the civil service

 

Statistics from the Prime Minister's Department confirm that minorities are underrepresented in the civil service.

According to data released by Special Functions Minister Abd Latiff Ahmad to the Dewan Rakyat, as of July 5, 79.02 percent of civil servants - not including the police and military forces - ranked Grade 56 and below are Malays.

Natives of Sabah and Sarawak each made up five percent of the civil service, respectively, followed by the Orang Asli from Peninsular Malaysia.

Collectively, bumiputeras made up 89.23 percent of civil servants who are Grade 56 and below.

This is disproportionately higher than the 69.6 percent estimate of the bumiputera population reported by the Population and Housing Census 2020.

Malay civil servants who are ranked Grade 56 and below were disproportionately higher when compared to the census results, which showed that this ethnic group made up 57.11 percent of citizens.

Natives of Sabah are underrepresented in this category of civil service because they make up only five percent, although their numbers in Sabah alone accounted for 6.7 percent of all citizens.

Natives of Sarawak, however, are likely to be overrepresented. Their population in Sarawak only accounted for 1.9 percent of all citizens but made up five percent of civil servants with Grade 56 and below.

Abd Latiff revealed this data in a written reply in Parliament to Teresa Kok (Harapan-Seputeh), who sought a breakdown of the civil service by race and different grades.

Kok also asked if the government had plans to create a civil service that reflected the country's ethnic composition and "fulfil the 'Keluarga Malaysia' slogan".

(Editor's note: The data provided by Abd Latiff had a "total" column and row, which contained summation errors. This article only examined data that was not in the "total" column and will be updated if Abd Latiff provides clarifications to Parliament.)

Open and fair competition

The proportion of Chinese and Indians in the "Jusa" range was higher than the lower ranks but still below the national level.

The gap widens at the "Turus" range for minorities. There are 49 Malays occupying such positions but only five positions are held by minorities.

There are no bumiputeras from East Malaysia nor Orang Asli holding "Turus" positions.

The "Turus" range is the highest attainable civil service position. Examples include ministry secretaries-general, ministry directors-general and department directors.

In his written reply, Abd Latiff said that civil servants are recruited based on "merit and competency" to ensure only the best are selected.

"There are no race-based quotas for recruitment and promotions. All Malaysians have the same opportunity to be considered based on open and fair competition," he said. - Mkini