KUCHING: The CUEPACS Sarawak (CNS) will take the initiative to approach the issue of the low percentage of top government officials from the Bumiputeras of Sabah and Sarawak more comprehensively.
In stating this, its chairman Omar Bahrein Unin said that since the issue has been raised by a certain party, the CNS will address the issue at the CUEPACS Supreme Authority Meeting to refine it.
“We will also try to submit suggestions and our views to the government on whether the issue raised by our politicians should be taken into consideration and to take action (or not).
“The CNS, in particular, needs to be more responsive to national issues in order to ensure that the government administration is always in a state of harmony by upholding the national spirit of one `Malaysian Family’,” he said when contacted by the New Sarawak Tribune yesterday.
Following this, he disclosed that in principle, CNS does not have specific statistics regarding the number of Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputeras who hold top government positions because before this, it has never been raised by any party publicly.
That is why, he added, this issue has never been an issue in the national administration.
“Nevertheless, the CNS believes that the government uses the merit-based appointment method for positions in the public service.
“Hence, the appointment of the top government officials may not follow the state quota,” he said.
For the record, Tenom MP Noorita Sual from Sabah has lamented the low number of Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputeras holding senior positions in the civil service.
She said the racial breakdown of the civil service as recently reported showed that the situation was ‘clearly unfair’ and a great cause for concern.
“As a representative for Sabah Bumiputeras, I am gravely upset to know that so few Sabah and Sarawak Bumiputeras hold the highest positions as government officials.
“This clearly gives the impression that there is a flaw in the appointment for these positions in our civil service,” she said in a statement.
