PETALING JAYA, JULY 10- Penang Deputy Chief Minister II, P Ramasamy, vowed to increase the participation of non-Malays, particularly Indians, in the state’s civil service based on meritocracy.
Ramasamy, who is also Perai state assemblyman, said that when Pakatan Rakyat took over the state in 2008, the state’s government linked companies (GLC) were dominated by one race.
“We saw a very small number of Chinese and Indian participation in the state civil service but since then, a lot of things have improved,” said Ramasamy.
Speaking particularly on the Indian community, Ramasamy said that currently, out of a total workforce of 8,028, 11.5% of the state’s civil service staff were from the Indian community.
“The Seberang Perai Town Council has about 11% Indian participation in its employment, from a total workforce of 2,618.
“As for our GLCs, the Penang Development Corporation has 217 staff of which 15.2% are Indians, and the Penang Hill Corporation has 86 staff of which 37% are Indians,” said Ramasamy.
Formidable task However, Ramasamy, who is also in charge of the state’s human resources portfolio, said that the state faces several challenges in getting more non-Malays employed in the state’s civil service.
Elaborating, Ramasamy said that there were two types of employment in the civil service – contractual and permanent staff.
“While contract staff come under the direct purview of state, which we can manage, we need to consult the Public Service Department (JPA) in order to employ permanent staff.
“This is because a pension scheme in involved with permanent staff. In other words, we need federal government’s support to employ more staff on permanent basis,” he said.
But Ramasamy said that he was undeterred, saying the state government will balance the racial composition in the state civil service, but at the same time give priority to the merit based system.
“It’s a formidable task but we will get more talented people to join the state civil service based on meritocracy,” he said.
