There has been a lot said about the non-Malays being uninterested in joining the civil service. A lot had been said, about Indians especially, not being given the civil service opportunities due to the bias and racial preference of the Public Services Commission.

One would say that the real reason is that the government has just failed to stop the civil service from becoming homogeneous after the senior clerical and technical staff of the Merdeka generation had retired. The civil service has become very unbalanced in terms of its composition because there was an internal tide which was not stemmed from the beginning.

This tide became a ‘tsunami’ which we now find very difficult to subdue due to the fact that the early entrants have now become major policy-makers themselves and they determine the civil service’s intake.

Because the government silently allowed the civil service to become a mono-`ethnic civil service, can one blame the non-Malays for not wanting to join the civil service?

Indians have always been the type that would want a stable job from which they can retire from with a pension and gracefully grow old. It was an honour in those days to be in the civil service as it gave the entrant a certain social standing and authority besides security of tenure.

But things have changed today in that the young no longer see the government as the main employer after they have successfully sought their qualifications. It is the opportunities that count today. It is the creativeness and ability to be different and the recognition of that talent which attracts the current generation.

I was very interested in the civil service when I first came out of Law School 12 years ago but as usual, I did not get the call up to attend an interview with the Judicial and Legal Services Commission. If I had been given an opportunity, I would have been serving in the civil service today. But I would say that it was a blessing in disguise as being in the private sector has given me the freedom to plan my future to meet the goals and targets that I have set for myself.

The government would still be able to correct the situation if proper policies are implemented and seen to be put into practice when decisions are made. A quota would be good start as it would assure the non-Malays that there are positions available which can be taken up in the respective fields if there are vacancies. This will also act as a catalyst to the young Malays to venture into the private sector and prove their ability.

The government must be very firm in its policy that there should not be a homogeneous civil service workforce made up of only one race in any government department. More promotions and a fair chance at becoming heads of departments and units concerned should be extended to the non-Malays so that a fair playing field in created for all to excel.

Currently, we do not see a fair representation of the Chinese and Indians as secretary-generals, director-generals and directors in most government departments. The same applies to senior positions in the police and armed forces.

Even if the government does not succeed in recruiting more non-Malays into the civil service, the communal attitudes and bias within it should be eradicated and nipped in the bud before it festers a situation which is beyond control. If this can be done, the delivery service will automatically become better and seen to be functional as employees take pride in what they do.