Cina dan India not interested in civil service, or civil service not interested in them?

There is an article in Berita Harian which quotes the PSD (Public Services Dept) chief as saying that non-Malays are not interested in working the civil service, and THAT's the reason why their numbers are so very low.

He based this reasoning on the fact that non-Malays comprise less than 5% of total applicants for positions in the civil service last year.

Well... that's quite convenient. Low number of applicants = low interest = low participation in the public sector. But that's not quite the whole story, is it? What are the real reasons for the low interest, in the first place?

If you do not address the root cause, then what you've just said is as useless as saying that hungry people are hungry because they don't eat. And they don't eat because they are not putting any food in their mouth. Yes, yes... all very logical and causal but it still doesn't tell us why these people are starving themselves.

So, what is causing the low interest in the civil service amongst non-Malays? Is it because they don't want to be in the civil service, or is it because they realise the civil service does not want them in it?

Is it low interest or high disenchantment? Here's Malaysians Unplugged Uncensored wading in with both fists swinging into this topic. And make sure you read the enlightening academic paper by Lim Hong Hai from USM's School of Social Sciences, which was referenced.

And coming from a family where both parents were civil servants from the 60s to the 90s, and having studied in a former-missionary school (ie. one of the SRJK/SMJK) for 11 years (ie. seeing the non-Malay teacher population go from 50% to 5% during that time, besides witnessing the career progression/stagnation of my teachers) - I agree with Malaysians Unplugged whole-heartedly.

But then again, since all bloggers are incapable to telling the truth as defined by Pak 'Tell me me the Truth' Lah, somebody like Merdekareview or Malaysiakini should conduct a comprehensive survey amongst non-Malay Malaysians and submit the results publicly to the PSD.

KURANG MINAT ANTARA FAKTOR WUJUD PERBEZAAN

Statistik tunjuk kaum Cina dan India kurang gemar sertai sektor awam Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Kurang minat berkhidmat dengan kerajaan dan tidak banyak permohonan daripada kaum Cina dan India adalah antara faktor utama wujud jurang besar antara dua golongan itu dengan pegawai Melayu dalam sektor perkhidmatan awam di Malaysia.

Statistik Suruhanjaya Perkhidmatan Awam (SPA) menunjukkan hanya 1.78 peratus kaum Cina dan 2.5 peratus kaum India daripada 486,802 individu yang memohon untuk menyertai sektor awam tahun lalu.

Ketua Pengarah Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA), Tan Sri Ismail Adam, berkata situasi itu sukar diubah walau pun pihaknya dan SPA, yang bertanggungjawab dalam urusan pengambilan kakitangan awam, sentiasa berusaha mengurangkan jurang perbezaan antara kaum dalam senarai penjawat awam di semua peringkat.

Beliau menegaskan, kerajaan tidak pernah mengamalkan sikap pilih kasih atau diskriminasi dalam pengambilan kakitangan baru termasuk peringkat Pegawai Tadbir dan Diplomatik (PTD).

'Aspek utama yang diberi perhatian dalam pengambilan penjawat awam adalah merit atau kelayakan akademik, bukan kaum... SPA sentiasa mengutamakan kelayakan pemohon untuk memastikan sistem penyampaiannya bermutu dan sekali gus dapat membantu rakyat yang berurusan dengan kerajaan,' katanya kepada akhbar Berita Harian Malaysia (BHM) kelmarin.

Isu berkaitan jurang antara kaum di Malaysia ditimbulkan Barisan Bertindak Hak-Hak Hindu (Hindraf) yang mengadakan demonstrasi jalanan pada 25 November lalu atas alasan ingin memperjuangkan hak kaum India di negara itu. -- BHM.