Non-Bumis also hired in civil service, says Murugiah

Wed, 13 Oct 2010 19:22
By Rahmah Ghazali
KUALA LUMPUR: The government is not discriminating against non-Bumiputeras in the government sector, Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department T Murugiah said.
“People always criticise the government of hiring one race for its workforce but that is not true,” Murugiah told reporters at Parliament House today.


He said the government is colour-blind when it comes to hiring non-Bumiputeras in the civil service, adding that the applicants are short-listed by a computer "which filters them according to their qualifications".

"Therefore, there is no bias or preference towards any race,” he said.

This was reflected on the percentage of non-Bumiputeras being hired by the Public Service Commission which has increased.

Murugiah said 58.2% of the total 1,559 Chinese applicants who were interviewed for government positions were hired by the commission as of June 15.

According to the statistics provided by Murugiah, the number of Chinese employed in the civil service has increased 9% compared with 2008 where only 49.2% of Chinese applicants were chosen out of 4,648 interviewees.

“If the majority of the applicants are from one race, we would take into consideration their qualifications and the way they present themselves during their respective interviews,” he said.

“There are many who have applied but they don’t have the qualifications. During the screening process, they have to comply with the set rules and regulations,” he added.

He also said the percentage for Indians employed in the government sector has also increased significantly.

“Out of the 1,833 Indians interviewed, 42.7% or 783 people were hired by the commission this year compared with 2008 when only 38.8% of the 6,106 Indian interviewees were hired," he said.

He also said that there was no quota system for top management positions which are open to other races.