DEPUTY Transport Minister Datuk Henry Harry Jinep has called upon the government to address the issue concerning the unfair treatment faced by the young, be it in education or employment.
“We must show that there is inclusivity and fairness of governance in our government-linked companies (GLCs) as well as transparency of recruitment, employment, and promotion in the State Civil service.
“If the current system is flawed, then we must rectify or change,” he said when tabling the motion of adjournment on the last day of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) sitting yesterday (Dec 1).
He added there are too many stories heard where the selection for educational opportunities and jobs has many elements of favouritism and is not based on merit.
“This kind of favouritism can be an issue and will damage the administration of any organisation because it leads to an imbalance of representation and dissatisfaction among civil servants or employees.
“Therefore, I believe that with the inclusivity leadership system by our Prime Minister, this imbalance gap can be reduced,” he said.
He also hoped that with the formation of this new unity government, all races will be considered in employment matters in government departments or agencies as well as GLC organisations.
“Don’t let it be the case when you see on the identification card (IC) with the ‘AK’ (Anak), then becomes ‘Awak Kemudian’ (Your turn later),” he said.
Henry, who is also the Tasik Biru assemblyman said in almost every election campaign, much talk has been going on the ground especially from the UNDI18 voters on their disappointment and dissatisfaction – much of it revolves around the seemingly unfair treatment received by our young generation, either in their education or in the employment world.
“There is a student who came and met me, even though the said student got excellent results but still could not apply for the field applied due to not being qualified.
“There are also students who are unable to continue their studies at local university and apply through Public Services Commission of Malaysia (SPA) recruitment, e-Recruitment but always receive a ‘Failed or Not Qualified’ result for the reason of not meeting the minimum requirements despite obtaining excellent results, and in the end, the outstanding students have to work as pump attendants and in ‘kopitiam’ (coffeeshop).
“There are those who study up to Master’s or PhD but return to the village and end up doing farming. There are also cases where they had to become temporary teachers or tuition teachers instead of working in the field that they are interested in.
“As such, things like this cause our young people in the rural areas including my area (Tasik Biru) feel dissatisfied and want change,” he said.
He also said in his village, there is a young man who attended the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) recruitment qualification test but he received a ‘Not Qualified’ result – only because he had a scar on the back of his body.
“Fortunately, this young man who is a boxer of SUKMA Sarawak team and is very enthusiastic to achieve his goals and he succeeded in the second interview,” he said.
Henry stressed as such these kinds of grumblings from the grassroots must be taken into consideration by the government.
On other hand, he said Sarawak has been practising unity for a long time.
“People in Sarawak regardless of religion, race and culture can live a harmonious life. This can be proven by the city of Kuching known as the City of Unity. You can sit and drink coffee together, unlike in Malaya.
“We do not want the newly formed unity government to change our unity. But we want to see if the unity government can fulfil their respective promises,” said Henry.
