ALOR STAR: Kedah Umno has expressed concern over the federal government's campaign to encourage more Chinese to join the civil service.
It's information chief Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said such a campaign could potentially undermine the Malay Bumiputera economy and was unlikely to help to enhance the performance of the civil service.
"There is now government encouragement to increase the entry of the Chinese community to join the civil service due to their purported lack of interest in civil service.
"The civil service has been the platform for Malays to compete on a stage of fairness and equity. If this platform is also to be compromised and limited, the Malay economy will suffer," he said in a statement.
Shaiful said that Malaysian Chinese tended to gravitate towards the private sector, drawn by more attractive salary packages, despite similar qualifications and experience to other groups.
"Based on statistics from the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM), Chinese workers led in the highest monthly median wage of RM4,000 last March compared to other ethnicities.
"Indians are second with a median monthly wage of RM2,500, while sadly, the Bumiputera only earn RM2,000.
These statistics cover 6.45 million formal workers.
"The starting salary for Chinese workers is also higher compared to other ethnicities. Chinese individuals have the highest median postgraduate salary of nearly RM3,500 compared to others averaging RM2,000 to RM2,500," he added.
Thus, he questioned why the government was pushing for more Chinese to join the civil service when they themselves prefer not to.
"Are Malays incapable of working? Can government offices not function without them? Is the government administration so disrupted?" he added.
Commenting further, he highlighted the alleged discrimination non-Chinese workers faced in the private sector, particularly with a prerequisite to speak Mandarin.
"Other groups are burdened by 'requirements' such as mandating Mandarin proficiency, it only adds pressure on the Bumiputera," he added.
Hence, he stressed for the government to explore alternative strategies to elevate civil service standards, such as introducing additional incentives to foster a more enthusiastic workforce.
On Saturday, a Mandarin daily reported that the government will launch a campaign to encourage greater Chinese community participation in the public sector, starting nationwide from Melaka on Sunday.
Political secretary to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Chan Ming Kai said that the campaign is being conducted due to the low interest among the Chinese community in civil service roles.
He said that during the campaign, Chinese civil servants would share their work experiences with those interested in joining the public sector.
