Higher pay not the answer, says PM
JOHOR BARU: Increasing wages of civil servants will not solve the racial imbalance in the public sector, said Datuk Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday.Describing the trend of having mostly Malays working for the Government as worrisome, the Prime Minister cited the example of why he left to open his own medical practice.
"I left government service because the gaji was low. But if the government (were to) increase the pay I can always increase my charges.
"You can't catch them," he told reporters after opening the 55th MIC Convention here yesterday.
Dr Mahathir said the Chinese chose the private sector because it was lucrative and offered more opportunities.
He said those who joined the government tend to leave half-way through their service as they saw more opportunities outside.
He said the government wanted to ensure that the races were represented not only in the government but also at all levels in the private sector or "there is a tendency for the Malays to join the government service and for non-Malays to join the private sector."
"We are worried because there are not enough Chinese and Indians in the government service. Now not many are joining.
"It is only in the diplomatic service that we find a fair representation. In the armed forces and police the races are not fully represented," he said.
Dr Mahathir said the racial composition of intake at local universities was also worrisome as the Malays tend to rely too much on quota.
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2001/5/20/nation/2002jbra&sec=nation
