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under British rule for over 100 years. Thus, by the time the country gained independence, the administrative machinery of the country was already in place based on the British colonial influence. Among others, the British had instituted the District and Land Offices, and had formed the Malayan Civil Service (MCS) as the main administrative body of the country. The federal-state system of government was already in place with a cabinet that comprised the Department of Internal Affairs, Department of Economy, Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Department of Education, Department of Health, Department of Industry and Social Relations, Department of Land, Mining and Communication, and the Department of Housing and Public Works [2]. When the country gained independence in 1957 as the Federation of Malaya, the system of administration was naturally that of an extension of the British administration.

The constitution of 1957 that allowed for an independent Malaya, gave the states equal constitutional status and relations to one another. All states were also equal in their relations to the center, but they were not equal to the center except in constitutional recognition. The powers of the federal government were enhanced on matters such as financial provision since the central government is the main taxing authority of the country. The states are only allowed taxing rights over revenue from land and forests. The constitution also allowed for emergency provision to rest with the central authority and this clearly gave the federal government enhanced power over the states [3]. The 1957 constitution provided the basis for the Federation of Malaysia Constitution of 1963 with the admission of three new states, i.e., Singapore, Sarawak, and Sabah into the federation. Singapore eventually left the federation in 1965 to be an independent nation in its own right.

Three main government systems evolved against the historical backdrop of the country; constitutional monarchy, parliamentary democracy and federalism. The three systems looked after the interests of all parties—the position of the Malay rulers of the states, the autonomy of the state government, and the interests of a multi-racial society with Malays, Chinese, and Indians as the main racial groups. The three governing systems have allowed for the country to have stability over the years since its independence in 1957, and this stability has, in turn, allowed for economic progress and development to take place.

11.2 Malaysian Civil Service

Civil service in Malaysia is carried out at both the federal and state level. At the federal level, the administration of the country is performed by the various ministries and departments, while at the state level, the civil service system comprises the local government and local administration. The number of public sector employees was once the biggest in the country, although a dwindling of its size has been observed in recent times. During the early post-colonization era, the civil service formed the largest employment in the country, employing about 300,000 or 16% of total employment. In 1997, the number reached almost 700,000. Following the country’s privatization exercise and an emphasis on the private sector as the country’s engine of growth, the number has been decreasing, currently standing at about 650,000 [4]. Still, if the armed forces and police force are included, the Malaysian civil service numbers about 1.2 million employees.1

Employees of the Malaysian civil service can be broadly grouped into two categories, the Managerial and Professional Group; and the Support Group. The Managerial and Professional Group requires a university degree as entry qualification. Senior officers from the Management and

1The Star Online, May 8, 2007, http://thestar.com.my/news/story (accessed October 1, 2009).

©2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Professional Group are promoted to the rank of Premier Civil Service positions or Jawatan Utama Sektor Awam (JUSA). These positions are most coveted in terms of salary, perks, and responsibilities, and are often referred to by the acronym JUSA. The Support Group on the other hand is further categorized into two, i.e., Support Group I and Support Group II. The entry qualification for Support Group I is college diploma or higher school certificate, while the entry qualification for Support Group II is secondary school certificate or lower school certificate. The Managerial and Professional Group serves as officers in the Malaysian civil service, while the Support Group serves as assistant officers. There are 246,202 officers in the Management and Professional Group and 1,603 in the Premier Civil Service positions2; while the rest are the Support Group employees. The structure is depicted in Table 11.1.

Malaysia’s civil service is much influenced by its colonial past, a legacy left by the British. It must be noted that among the purposes of British colonization policy was for colonized countries to provide raw materials needed for the booming industrial sector in Britain. Thus, Malaya was developed by the British as a major producer of raw materials such as rubber and tin. This move saw mass migration of Chinese and Indians to work in the tin mines and rubber estates, respectively [5]. The resultant effect was ethnic segregation along economic functions, with the Chinese as traders and tin miners; the Indians in rubber plantations and as white-collar workers; and the Malays in the rural areas as farmers and fishermen. As the Malays became more concerned with being economically marginalized in their own country, this was, among others, placated by the British by opening the civil service to the Malays. The recruitment quotas for the administrative elite were introduced in 1952, and the practice continued unaltered after independence [6]. This historically sets the basis for the country’s civil service to be gradually dominated by the Malays, and continues today. Table 11.2 shows the proportion by ethnicity on entry to the Administrative and Diplomatic Service (ADS).

While the practice was acceptable during the early post-colonial period as part of the bargaining arrangement between the Malays, Chinese, and Indians; the situation has changed after more than half a century of independence. There is now greater pressure for the composition of the civil service, particularly the elite ADS, to reflect the ethnic composition of the country. The government has responded accordingly. In 2007, non-Bumiputra composition in the civil service increased to 15.3%; and assurance was given by the Chief Secretary to the Government that

2The Malaysian Bar, May 22, 2007, http://www.malaysianbar.org.my/news (accessed September 30, 2009).

©2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

214 Public Administration in Southeast Asia

Table 11.2 Entry to the Administrative and Diplomatic Service (1998, 2001–2003)

Source: McCourt, W. and Foon, L. M., Malaysia as model: Policy transferability in an Asian country,

Public Management Review, 19, 2, 222, 2007.

recruitment and promotion within the civil service will not be based on racial considerations.3 However, job applications into the civil service from ethnic groups other than Malays are low to begin with. In 2003, only 1.9% and 2.2% of the 350,000 civil service applicants were Chinese and Indians, respectively [7]. It has also been noticed that since the 1990s the number of Chinese applicants has been decreasing for the technical and professional positions as well, such as accountants, engineers, and scientists, which they used to dominate [8]. A number of reasons have been attributed to this. One is the social belief that Chinese in particular are not interested in working for the government because of pay. Although a sharp salary revision carried out in July 2007 has made civil service pay more attractive, it is still a little early to see its impact. But sentiment deeply rooted in the historical divide of the Malays being in government, the Chinese in business, and the Indians in the plantations has also been reasoned as to why other ethnic groups are keeping away from the civil service [9].

In general, civil service pay has been much less than that of the private sector. This has led to a situation where the civil service was not able to attract the best talent, or as mentioned earlier, also made it less attractive to the other ethnic groups in the country. But a healthy trend toward it becoming the career of choice among graduates has been observed in recent times. It is now fast becoming very competitive to join the public service, as can be seen in the number of applicants as opposed to the number of vacancies for selected positions in Table 11.3.

The notion that a government job does not pay well and is not attractive, no longer holds, especially following the sharp salary revision in July 2007, discussed further. Factor in the very generous pension scheme and housing loan, numerous perks such as medical benefits that extend to the spouse, children and parents; opportunities to further studies on government scholarship, and various allowances such as a housing allowance and a cost of living allowance; and critical allowance for some services; certainly the Malaysian civil service package has come of age. Thus, greater competition to join the civil service will be the order of the day.

The main central agency for human resource in the Malaysian civil service is the Public Service Division (PSD) or Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA). All human resource policies and implementation are centralized under the PSD, and are transmitted to the various ministries and departments through administrative circulars issued by the PSD. Another central agency that is involved in human resource functions of the civil service is the Public Service Commission (PSC). However, unlike the PSD’s comprehensive responsibilities over human resource management, the

3China Press, January 11, 2008, Regardless of race, gender, only the best will be employed and promoted, http:// www.pemudah.gov.my/China_press_110108_exclusive interview with KSN.asp (accessed January 28, 2008).

©2011 by Taylor and Francis Group, LLC