Ensure civil service recruitment ‘free from taint of racism’ – Tiong

KUCHING: Dudong assemblyman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has urged the state government to ensure that the civil service recruitment system in Sarawak is “free from the taint of racism”.

This, he stressed, is to ensure job seekers who are interested in joining the state civil service are treated fairly.

The Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) president said he has received feedback from the people, including those from the Iban, Bidayuh, Melanau, Chinese communities who felt that they had been denied equal opportunities when applying for jobs, and had failed their job applications due to discrimination.

“Civil servants in many agencies are also known to consist only of people from specific ethnicities. Many among the younger generation especially feel this is unfair. I would like to highlight that the issues of discrimination and unfairness impact the government seriously, which must be seriously investigated.

“Do not let the people continue to be annoyed or unhappy with the government, or worse, accuse the government of being racist against certain groups of people. I would like to stress that it is important to maintain harmony and unity in Sarawak,” he said when debating the State Budget 2023 yesterday.

Tiong said even those who are fortunate enough to be hired into the civil service are facing obstacles that hamper their promotion or career advancement in government agencies.

“Many say that they have worked hard for half of their lives but have never been appreciated for their good work performance. All these factors result in hardworking people becoming disappointed with the government system and lead to the entire government department to be dragged down.

“I hope that the authorities concerned will give a close look at the system’s difficulties and weaknesses, and work on inculcating the concept of ‘diversity, harmony, win-win, and common prosperity’ and not let a small group of people affect the unity and harmony amongst the people of Sarawak,” he said.

Tiong pointed out that other issues that have been frequently raised by the people which could be exploited to erode support from the ruling Gabungan Parti Sarawak is that the Yayasan Sarawak Board of Directors is not inclusive and is dominated by a single race.

Do not let the people continue to be annoyed or unhappy with the government, or worse, accuse the government of being racist against certain groups of people. I would like to stress that it is important to maintain harmony and unity in Sarawak.

Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing