LETTER | The Minority Rights Action Party (MiRA Party) would like to draw attention that despite Malaysia priding itself as a multiracial country, the minorities are totally under-represented in the workforce of most public sectors.

A good example of the above statement is in reference to the worrying number of minorities being recruited into Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

The organisation chart of DBKL itself does not reflect the racial composition of Malaysia as there is practically zero representation of the minority in the top management positions.

For an example, all the department directors are of a single race only.

MiRA Party would hereby call on DBKL to improve the rates of hiring minority and to promote more minorities into the top management role. A diverse workforce leads to a higher level of innovation, creativity and will increase productivity.

This will enhance a department’s ability to manoeuvre in an increasingly difficult and diverse environment.

We would like to seek clarity on the hiring process and efforts that will be taken to ensure that there are comparable job opportunities given to minorities on a level playing field. We hope that DBKL could clarify on some of our concerns as below:

1. How many percentages of the total workforce in DBKL matches the minorities’ population in this country?
    
2. Is there a merit system in determining the recruitment of candidates?
    
3. Will DBKL lead an effort by initiating these policies as follows?

• Transparency on hiring criteria
• Improve retention of minority labours
• Create a workplace where different views are valued and embraced

As some may view that creating equality of job opportunity for the minority as a problem, we see it as an opportunity to spearhead and set a standard for ensuring that the government services and departments truly reflect and represent the communities they serve.

Kuala Lumpur MiRA Party, as the official strategic partner of Pakatan Harapan government, is ever ready to work with DBKL and the government on this matter.

Let’s celebrate our diversity and complement each other as truly Malaysian, what more in the Merdeka month.

G PURAVINDRAN is the Kuala Lumpur MiRA Party vice-chairperson.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.