Awang Tengah: State civil service practises meritocracy

KUCHING: The Sarawak civil service practises a recruitment and selection system based on merit, says Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan.

He said the system ensured that state civil servants were appointed according to their qualifications, abilities and competency, irrespective of quota, race or background.

“At present, the Sarawak civil service is staffed by officers from all races, including ethnic minorities such as the Kajang, Miriek, Saban and Tagal,” he told the legislative assembly when winding up the debate on the state’s 2023 budget.

Awang Tengah said the state civil service’s selection, development and promotion system was being implemented smoothly.

However, he said the state government would continue to improve the civil service in line with current needs and developments.

“For the information of this House, the state Public Services Commission, established under Article 36 of the state constitution, is an independent commission which manages and monitors matters related to recruitment, promotion and discipline for the state civil service,” he added.

Awang Tengah also said Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) would work closely with the national unity government to ensure political stability, social harmony and economic prosperity for Malaysia.

“We have seen enough of politicking in Peninsular Malaysia. Now is the time for reconciliation and healing and Malaysia to move on,” he said.

He also called on the new government to be more sympathetic and fairer to Sarawak by returning the state’s rights enshrined in the Federal Constitution and Malaysia Agreement 1963 and providing more development funds to the state.

This would enable Sarawak to close the development gap with the peninsula, he said, adding that it would be “grossly unjustifiable” for the Federal Government to continue allocating only about 5% of the national development budget to the state.