THE call from Deputy Penang Chief Minister P. Ramasamy to reform the civil service, primarily to increase the intake of non-Malays, is timely and relevant. 

With Umno part of the government now, this issue can be approached diplomatically. 

Any sensible and patriotic Malaysian will agree there is a need for more non-Malay civil servants to reflect the demographics of the country.

More than 90% of the civil service is Malay. The nation will gain, not lose, if more non-Malays are in the public sector. Diversity in the civil service will bring many advantages. During long festival holidays such as Aidilfitri, the civil service comes to a standstill for more than week. A skeletal staff of Chinese and Indians can keep the departments functioning to help the people. Writers, philosophers, historians, motivational speakers and trainers have long promoted the beneficial effects of diversity in the workforce. The government has no right to turn non-Malays away. Is it patriotic to wish to serve the country?

The government cannot go on giving the silly excuse that it has to hire more Malays to counter an imbalance in the private sector. The private sector is profit-driven but this is not the case with the government. The government should not discriminate against its own  people. Nowadays, a lot of non-Malay graduates are conversant in Malay and have additional degrees, diplomas and  other qualification to boot. Most of these graduates also speak reasonably good English.

It is a privilege to work for the country and be reasonably remunerated with pay, benefits and training. In the long run, civil  service employment is attractive and very much desired. Indians, more than the Chinese, feel bitter about their lack of opportunity to enter the civil service.  Unlike the Chinese, who have private and corporate sector support to fall back on, Indians feel the loss of  important  provider  of employment. The social ills plaguing the community can be traced to unemployment, marginalisation and a lack of progress in a fast-developing country. 

We often hear of the term “divide and rule”. The civil service should not be an example of this.

Up until the 1980s the government employed a large number of Indians. One recollect the  distinguished heads of various  departments  who served during the 1960s to the 1980s, such as J. G. Daniel,  Dr Jones Verghese, B.C. Shekar, K. D. Menon, Dr Ramesh Chander, Dr T. J. Danaraj,  Drs C. P. Ramachandran and Vijayamma Thomas, Sonny Menon, and Dr Thomas Varughese. They served as role models for the Indian community. There were also countless numbers of Eurasians, Ceylonese,  Malayalees and Sikhs and some Chinese occupying top  positions in the administrative and judicial services. I remember that during the early 1980s there were seven state health directors who were Sikh.

It was only after Dr Mahathir Mohamed became prime minister that there was a deliberate and drastic reduction in the intake of non-Malays in the civil service. 

As Cuepacs president Adnan Mat said a few days back, government staff are selected by merit.   What he did not explain was why more Chinese, Indians and others have not been recruited by merit.

One should note that most of the civil servants arrested for corruption, power abuse, embezzlement  and other offences are Malay. A more diverse civil service will ensure checks and balances that will be good for the country. 

The government needs to cast the net  far and wide to select the best to manage the country during these challenging times. Malaysians of all ethnic backgrounds are more than willing to serve the country to the best of their ability. – February 15, 2023.

* V. Thomas reads The Malaysian Insight.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.