Take experience into account as well

I REFER to the letter “Dilemma of civil servants with SPM qualification” ( The Star, July 14).

I’m also in the same boat as LMP from Butterworth and I know of many others in the same predicament. It is indeed rather unfair to suddenly use the STPM/ diploma as criteria for promotion.

When one has served for so many years, one would not have thought of taking a step backward and equip oneself with STPM/ diploma qualification. I did what I thought was the best at that time and concentrated on departmental examinations. I remember so much emphasis was placed on the civil service (KPSL) examinations. A few years ago, my colleague was busy studying for the examination and her 12-year-old girl asked, “Mum, you’re already working in the government sector, already 40+ years now, so why are you still studying for exams?”

Please bear in mind that passing the KPSL examination was no simple feat. The syllabus was so wide I had to borrow books from some professional acquaintances but I’m proud to say that I successfully crossed the hurdle after three attempts. Sad to say, I have not moved up at all in my career.

I’m now in my late 50s and with 38 years’ service, it is rather demoralising to know that a KPSL qualification does not have any significance in this upgrading exercise, unlike STPM/ diploma. Even then, some diplomas are not being accepted because the awarding institutions are not recognised. It is such a sad state of affairs because these diploma holders and their parents, unaware of this “recognised” and “not recognised” situation, would have spent a huge sum just to get a diploma scroll in their hands. To prevent such a situation, these “not recognised” institutions should not be allowed to operate or else they must be monitored to ensure compliance with the relevant requirements to gain recognition.

Just as LMP is worried about the working relationship between seniors and juniors, I too fear the worst. If a junior is level headed and can think straight, he/she might be able to accept guidance from the experienced seniors. But what if a junior who gets this promotion lets it get into his/her head and chooses to ignore the lower graded seniors? This will surely cause stress and tension and the working environment will no longer be harmonious.

Talking about KPSL, the age limit used to be 54 years with retirement at 55. Now that the retirement age is 60, the authorities should consider raising the age limit, at least to 58 years. This move would definitely motivate and inspire all those who are a few years away from retirement to continue serving with more dedication during their remaining working years.

I humbly urge the authorities to reconsider the promotion criteria; don’t just base them on paper qualifications but also on the experience and dedication of the seniors. We seniors not only carry with us tonnes of experience but also a big number in age and service. Please don’t let us literally end up with zero!

At the end of the day, it is us – the seniors – who have been around for years and somewhere or sometime along our working journey, it is us who have helped to make the government machinery what it is today, an efficient one. Bravo, seniors!

Reconsider the promotion criteria; don’t just base them on paper qualifications but on experience too.