'Campaign for Chinese joining public sector may not succeed'

The Congress of Unions of Employees in Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has urged Malays not to worry about the programme encouraging the Chinese community to join the civil service.

Cuepacs secretary-general Abdul Rahman Nordin was also sceptical about efforts to attract the group, saying it might not have a significant impact.

He deemed it a “recycled” campaign, saying such efforts were made previously but received little response.

“Generally, the Chinese community in this country prefers not to work for or depend on the government as it makes them feel beholden, especially in fields like the military, police, and fire department.

“They mostly prefer jobs oriented towards business and computer fields.

“Furthermore, their cultural factor plays a role as they dislike permanent jobs in one place. They prefer to move to workplaces offering higher salaries,” he said.

Abdul Rahman also called the latest encouragement for Chinese Malaysians another failed episode in the government’s efforts to create equality in the public service.

Earlier, it was reported that efforts were being made to attract more Chinese to join the government as civil servants with a kickoff campaign in Malacca this Sunday.

Just cosmetic, no impact

The effort was announced by the prime minister’s political secretary Chan Ming Kai a few days ago, as a step to address ethnic disparities at the grassroots level.

After Malacca, the same campaign will be conducted in major locations across the country including Petaling Jaya, Segamat, Muar, Johor Bahru, Pontian, Kluang, Ipoh, Taiping, Teluk Intan, Butterworth, and Kangar.

However, the proposal has received mixed reactions.

Chan Ming Kai

Yesterday, Umno Youth opined that the campaign’s target should not be limited to the Chinese community alone but be extended to all other ethnicities.

Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh said Malaysians of other non-Malay ethnicities should also be encouraged to join the public sector, especially the military.

“Secondly, Umno Youth urges the government to prevent any private companies in this country from only hiring employees based on their ethnicity or requiring them to know languages other than Malay,” he said.

Meanwhile, PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan considered the government’s campaign to be merely cosmetic and unlikely to have a significant impact unless the root issues involving cultural and discriminatory issues are addressed.

He said the Chinese generally have a mentality of not wanting to work for the government because the sector is perceived to be too dominated by bumiputera.

He said Chinese children are taught to be independent and to study hard without relying on the government so that when they grow up, they can work for more profitable private companies.

PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan

“This campaign will not provide any solution as long as the root cause of the problem - the quota system favouring the bumiputera - is not addressed.

“Although the Malaysian Public Service Commission states that the selection of civil servants is based on merit, the quota system is still quietly practised,” he said.

Spur inter-ethnic interactions

In contrast, economist Azrul Azwar Ahmad Tajuddin did not rule out the possibility that the campaign would receive support from the Chinese community.

Based on his involvement in a mobile registration programme for the national Central Database Hub (Padu) with the Ampang parliamentary office, he observed a more encouraging response from the Chinese community.

“In areas where Malays are the majority, we can only get tens of people, but in Chinese-populated areas, we can get over 1,000 people,” he said.

Based on this, the former special officer to the Selangor menteri besar said he sees signs that the Chinese are now more open and willing to embrace the government’s policies.

Anis Sina, a researcher at O2 Malaysia, believes that public service is the best way to spur interactions among Malaysia’s diverse population.

Such interactions are difficult to achieve in the private sector, especially for multinational corporations, as they prioritise global values over local ones, he said.

“Public servants are responsible for providing services to the people, especially to marginalised segments of society.

“This can be a platform for interaction between non-Malay civil servants with various segments of society.

“With such interactions, lifestyles that were previously limited to certain communities will become more open, while the spirit of mutual understanding will become more evident,” he added. - Mkini