My son has kept me from my writing cap for the last few days but it has not stopped me from noticing how lately Indians are being given preference treatment from the Government especially when politicians are high with election fever. Image source: Aliran
Concern for the Indians
The thing is when you read it from the mainstream media; it implies that the Indians should be grateful to the Government.
Take one for example, this piece of news from theStar titled “Indians promised jobs in Government”. Let’s look at the title for a second, shall we? What does it imply? Does it mean the Indians do not have any chance of getting jobs in the Government but only now the Government has decided to ensure that the Indians have a chance to get a job and for that, we should be grateful (with our votes)?
BUTTERWORTH: Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop has promised to get Indian youths jobs in the Government if their applications are rejected without reason.
“I will help you get the jobs,” he told a dialogue with eight Indian-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) here.
He said Indian youths could voice their grouses to him and he would ensure that they would not be overlooked when vacancies are filled.
Ok wait – does it sound like some Indian-based politician party president speaking – “Come to me and I can do wonders”?
Rejection without reason
It is interesting to see how something can be rejected without any reason. If one is rejecting, there must be a reason – what is it then? Or is it because the reason is something that is race & religion and it is so sensitive that it cannot be said in the “open”? If so, there is a serious shortcoming in the job application shortlisting procedure and nothing is being done to correct them.
Perhaps these are the questions that the Government should address instead of telling the youth to look for a “second chance” after being rejected for the first time. What did they think this is – a credit card application?
“We want to ensure youths of all races are given equal opportunities to work in the government sector,” he said.
Correct, correct, correct but is this what the Government departments practicing in reality? My buddy applied for police constable but despite having the qualifications, health, and papers, he was rejected – no reason given but his co-applicants (from a particular race) were taken in despite having several shortcomings. He was feeling dejected understandably but later he found a better, higher-paying job in a private company (but still his dream was to be a policeman). Any more similar cases out there?
Why now?
And the thing is, why show “concern” only now when Indians, Chinese, and others have been left out of the opportunity in the past years? We want the brightest and smartest to work in the Government without any favor or preferences to the color of their skin or religion. Is this being practiced by the Government?
So, look here Nor, we don’t want a charity to be thrown at us on a piecemeal basis. We all know that because of the election, you are showing “extra concern” to the Indians. We have gone through that before with one Indian party president and we have learned our lessons a long time ago.
It is your duty!
It is your duty anyway to give equal opportunity to all deserving Malaysians. There is no “let us think about it”, “we will decide who gets the job”, “this job is reserved for selected people”, etc.
It is your duty to provide without question because, at the end of the day, your real boss is the Malaysian people. It is for that reason, you have been elected and paid – to do your duty. Period! But we know about the people like you – arrogant & unfair when firmly holding onto the posts but insecure & good when elections are around the corner.
Equal opportunity
Ideally, any posts in the Government should be opened to all Malaysians to apply. Then pick the cream of the crop for the final interview and after allowing the candidates an opportunity to demonstrate why they are the best of the best, pick the best to fill the post.
Never look at the color of the skin and religious background when doing this. Have some good standards to judge the potential candidates. Perhaps with less poor poor-quality public servants going out for frequent tea breaks & taking bribes, the quality of service and professionalism in the Government department can be vastly improved.
Leave out the patronizing of the Malaysians…we had enough of the nonsense!