This year's intake of Indian Malaysians into the civil service has surpassed the 7.4 percent quota, said Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam.

dr s subramaniam interview 210308 05 According to the Public Service Commission, up to nine percent of Indians have been recruited this year.

"This is indeed an encouraging development," he said in a statement today.

Subramaniam, who is also MIC secretary-general, said the issue of Indian Malaysians seeking employment in the civil service has been among his top priority.

Following discussions with the Public Service Commission (SPA) and the Public Service Department, he said it was agreed that a quota of 7.4 percent, almost equivalent to the Indian population in Malaysia was allocated for the community in the civil service.

Rejection is common

On the question of many Indian Malaysians who applied and had their applications rejected, Subramaniam said 4,000 Indians were recruited by the SPA this year. Another 12,000 applicants had their applications rejected.

"This is common in the intake of other races as well. There were various reasons cited by the SPA to reject the applications," he added.

Subramaniam said MIC will continue to monitor the intake of Indians into the civil service.

"I have discussed this issue in Cabinet meetings. We are also discussing with government-linked companies (GLCs) to take in more Indians such as Tenaga Nasional Berhad.

"We will ensure more places are set aside for Indians in the GLCs through negotiations with the government," he added.