More publicity for Tony in Utusan Malaysia

Umno Youth has decided to give Tony further political publicity by demanding Tony and the DAP to retract their recent press statement on the pay rise of the civil service. Yesterday in Utusan Malaysia the secretary of Umno Youth Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahalan brought up a host of almost unrelated issues in an attempt to turn up the heat on KJ's fellow alumnus Tony. Take a look at the following statements (in Bahasa Malaysia):

Setiausahanya, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahalan menegaskan permasalahan graduan Melayu ialah apabila syarikat-syarikat swasta terutamanya milik bukan Melayu tidak memberi peluang sama rata kepada graduan tersebut.

Menurutnya, syarikat-syarikat berkenaan meletakkan banyak syarat yang tersurat dan tersirat sehingga menyukarkan graduan Melayu mendapatkan pekerjaan.

‘‘Saya mencabar Pua untuk memberi statistik berapa orang pekerja Melayu yang diambil oleh syarikat swasta bukan Melayu dan sama ada halangan seperti keperluan mengetahui bahasa Mandarin dan suasana bekerja yang tidak kondusif sengaja diadakan atau tidak,’’ katanya dalam satu kenyataan di sini hari ini.

This tit-for-tat argument is getting a bit stale. Two wrongs doesn't make a right. Besides, private companies are all about profits and performance. If a candidate fits the bill, there is no reason why he or she will be rejected due to the colour of his or her skin. I have yet to see evidence of alleged widespread discrimination against staff of a particular race in the private sector, particularly in MNCs. This compares to the numerous written complaints and reasoning why so many have chosen to leave their positions in the government sector, especially in institutions of higher learning and the hospitals. Moreover, in bringing up this stale argument, Abdul Rahman just serves to bolster the perception that indeed the government service is mainly about providing employment to Malay Malaysians because apparently they are unable to find employment in the private sector due to widespread discrimination.

In the same article, Exco member Datuk Shamsul Anuar Nasarah says:

Katanya, memang perangai pemimpin DAP sentiasa mahu menimbulkan isu yang memperlihatkan seolah-olah tindakan dan dasar kerajaan semuanya tidak betul.

Namun, beliau berkata, kenyataan Pua itu jelas memperlihatkan pendirian DAP yang cuba menidakkan sumbangan besar kakitangan kerajaan dalam pembangunan negara sehingga diiktiraf antara yang terbaik oleh masyarakat antarabangsa.

On the contrary, Tony's press statement is overall supportive of the civil service pay rise. In fact, the DAP has been calling for the pay of the police force to be increased since 2000. I personally am supportive of the pay rise. The issue being raised is not whether the civil service needs a pay rise, but about the massive size which naturally begets the questions on productivity and efficiency. This is all the more so when seen in the light of one of the original objectives of privatization of keeping the civil service size at around 500,000, and the intended transformation in the way the civil service operates and deliver services through the 7 flagship applications identified as enablers of the E-Government vision. Surely the government do realize the need for a leaner and more efficient civil service because this has been one of the many goals of their own policies. This problem of increasing civil service size has to be taken seriously as it indicates implementation problems with the policies, not to mention increasing government expenditure unnecessarily.

The last statement made by Datuk Shamsul takes the cake:

‘‘Sebenarnya DAP semakin goyah dengan langkah kerajaan memberikan kenaikan gaji kepada kakitangan baru-baru ini dan mereka melihat langkah tersebut mengurangkan sokongan rakyat kepada mereka,’’ katanya.

Seems like he is admitting that the pay rise does have a link to the intention of the government to increase support among the civil servants. This when his big boss Pak Lah has flatly denied that there was ever a link. Perhaps Umno Youth needs to be more careful when issuing statements in the heat of the moment, especially so when they bring into question the accuracy of statements made by their very own party president.

Anyway, Tony and DAP is having a press conference today at 10.30am to clear the air over the matter. Check out his blog for a full statement once it's uploaded.