KUCHING, Feb 15: The Sarawak government must ensure there is equal and fair opportunity for promotion if it is truly serious about attracting more Chinese and Dayak to participate in the Sarawak civil service.
Looking at the high-ranking positions in the Sarawak civil service, Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen said there is a clear unproportionate representation of races, especially the Chinese and Dayak, which is much lower than their respective proportion in Sarawak’s population.
“It is therefore welcoming to hear the Premier (Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari Tun Openg) speaking of attracting more Chinese and Dayak to join the civil service.
“However, it is hoped that such words are not mere lip service and that the Premier will walk the talk to create a more racially balanced Sarawak civil service.
“There should be efforts to attract more Chinese and Dayak into the civil service and ensure that they are given a fair chance of promotion in the service,” he said in a statement today.
For Sarawak to achieve a more racially balanced civil service proportionate with the racial composition of the region, the Padungan assemblyman proposed four concrete actions for the Sarawak government, including making public the present racial composition of the Sarawak civil service at all different grades.
“Previously when I put a question on this matter in the DUN (Sarawak Legislative Assembly), the Speaker rejected the question, citing that the information is touching on a sensitive matter. If the government continues to adopt such a secretive approach in the matter, then the problem will not be resolved.
“Secondly, to make public its target in terms of racial composition in the civil service for the next three years, six years and nine years or the so-called KPIs (key performance indicators). Thirdly, to make public the means and measures that it will take to implement and ensure that such targets or KPIs are achieved,” he said.
Lastly, Chong, who is also Stampin MP, added that the government must also put into action the proposal by Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) secretary-general Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi to set race-based quotas for jobs in Sarawak’s civil service and to make public what those quotas are.
He also asserted that the salary scales are not the key deterrent for the Chinese to take up government jobs as government salaries are higher than those offered by certain private sector companies and furthermore, government jobs are more secure.
The lopsided racial composition in Sarawak civil service, he said, is primarily due to the unfair employment intake procedure and the unfair promotion consideration adopted by the government thus far.
“Therefore, with such statements made by the Premier and supported by the PBB secretary-general, we hope that the Sarawak government is sincere in addressing these issues and we look forward to the follow-up statements by the Premier on the four suggestions proposed here,” he said. — DayakDaily
