By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysia plans to increase the number of its Indian and Chinese officials by 10 percent in two years to help promote the country’s tourism in India and China.
Chinese newspaper Sin Chew has quoted Donald Lim Siang Chai, Malaysia’s Deputy Tourism Minister, as saying that only 19 Indians and nine Chinese are among the 1,300 officers working in the ministry and tourism departments.
The government is planning to increase the number of Chinese and Indian officials by 10 percent to help penetrate the tourism market in China and India, the minister said.
He said having officers who could speak in native languages during their promotional activities overseas would definitely bring in more “sales” as there would be no language barrier.
Lim said it was vital that civil servants holding high positions be made up of various races. Such a formation would become handy while dealing with any racial issue or achieving a higher level of economic development, he said.
Certain government sectors had no Chinese officers and their information counters were often left unattended during festive seasons, he said.
Ethnic Indians comprise roughly eight percent and the Chinese 33 percent of Malaysia’s 27 million population. Majority Malays constitute over 60 percent.
Meanwhile, a report that non-Malays, especially ethnic Indians, were not interested in government jobs has raised a new controversy.
Indian origin minister Samy Vellu has said he would seek details from the Public Services Department (PSD) director-general Ismail Adam on employment and promotional opportunities for non-Malays, especially Indians in the public service sector.
He has expressed his surprise over why a paper had reported that non-Malays, especially Indians, were not interested in government jobs.
“I am surprised over the report. I want to know the latest statistics, after which I will prepare a detailed report to be submitted to the cabinet, the prime minister and the deputy prime minister,” Vellu was quoted as saying by The Star newspaper Thursday.
A recent report said that out of 486,802 of those who applied to work in the civil service last year, Chinese and Indians only accounted for 1.78 percent and 2.5 percent respectively.
According to the report, only five percent of Indians are currently employed in the civil services in Malaysia.
It quoted Ismail Adam of the public service department (PSD) as saying that the situation was “difficult to change” although the PSD has been trying to reduce the gap between the races in the civil service.
He said the government had never condoned sympathy or discrimination when hiring new staff, including those at the diplomatic and administration level.
Vellu, who also heads the country’s oldest party of ethnic Indians – Malaysian Indian Congress – recently apprised the cabinet on the need to employ more Indians.
He has also called for providing more promotional opportunities to Indians in the public service sector.
Following his request, he said, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi then asked Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to chair a special committee to look into the matter.