Discrimination in employment (Updated)

Source

Excerpts from the post:

 "Kajian selama enam bulan itu mendapati, syarikat yang dimiliki oleh kaum Cina dan pihak asing lebih mengutamakan graduan kaum Cina untuk bekerja dengan mereka.

Daripada 3,012 resume yang dihantar untuk 753 pekerjaan kepada syarikat terbabit, kaum Melayu hanya mempunyai 4.2% peluang untuk dipanggil menghadiri temu duga.

Kaum Cina pula mempunyai sebanyak 22.1% peluang walaupun mereka mempunyai kelulusan setara dan lepasan universiti sama dengan kaum Melayu.

Kajian itu melibatkan 439 jawatan kosong di syarikat yang dimiliki kaum Cina, 131 jawatan di syarikat milik asing dan 73 jawatan di syarikat milik Melayu dan selebihnya di syarikat yang dimiliki secara bersama oleh pelbagai kaum."

The study found that Chinese applicant stand a higher chance  to be called for an interview compared with Malay applicants. 

I'm sure many would disagree or probably view it as propaganda, but I think the result is quite accurate. Most, not all, Chinese companies have majority Chinese employees, especially in management or executive roles. Other races, if any, are usually found in non-executive positions. 

However, I find that the study might be a bit skewed. I noticed the discrepancy in the number of job openings being much higher for the Chinese companies compared to foreign and Malay ones. Although it states similar qualifications, but it did not state the type of courses and industry. Those are actually important factors which were omitted. 

I think it would be better if the study was done with equal numbers of job openings and applicants according to race, and between equal number of companies owned by Chinese, Malays and foreigners and their respective industries.

Anyway, even without such studies, we would come to the same conclusion with just casual observation. Well, Chinese-owned companies are not exactly easy to work in anyway. Even the Chinese find it tough working for a Chinese boss, of course there are always exceptions.

"Saya kira lebih baik orang Melayu/Bumiputera diberikan kemahiran hingga ke peringkat tertinggi iaitu dengan memberikan mereka latihan yang betul di dalam perniagaan dan pengetahuan teknikal."

 This is an interesting statement. I fully agree with it. In fact, it applies to all races. When youngsters cannot get a job, it leads to increase in social problems. I'm sure the government is aware of this because Malaysia actually lack skilled workers. Society places too much emphasis on paper qualifications and it is actually ruining the future of these students when they have problems getting jobs after they graduate, saddled with study loans and wasted years.

Passion

Students and parents especially should really take this into consideration. To me, passion and attitude are more important qualities, of course, certain jobs still require appropriate qualifications. In reality, not everyone is suited for academic pursuits. I have seen students struggling in their courses just to pass. I have also seen people who hates their jobs but do not have a choice. I seen professionals who burn-out after a decade in their jobs, finally quit, and found happiness and success doing what they liked. Passion. With passion, every challenge can be overcome. Without, everyday is a chore.

What I see now, is a very serious mismatch of qualification and skills with regards to market requirements. In today's competitive environment, depending on the industry, employers do not have the luxury of time and resources to train their new employees. They would prefer to hire those with experience. Even then, you are expected to be independent and would still be able to deliver even with limited resources. Gone are the days when a manager have a whole army of staff to assist him.

"You need a lot of passion for what you're doing because it's so hard. Without passion, any rational person would give up. So if you're not having fun doing it, if you don't absolutely love it, you're going to give up. And that's what happens to most people, actually. If you look at the ones that ended up being successful in the eyes of society, often times it's the ones who love what they do, so they could persevere when it got really tough. And the ones that didn't love it, quit. Because they're sane, right?  Who would put up with this stuff if you don't love it? So its a lot of hard work and it's a lot of worrying constantly. If you don't love it, you're going to fail."

24 June 2013 Updated with a response from Mr. Koon Yew Yin, to the original article "Redefining the Malay Agenda" by Zaid Ibrahim.

Mr. Koon Yew Yin is an investor and philantropist. He is the founder IJM Group, Gamuda and Mudajaya. Apparently he has set up a fund, called Koon Yew Yin Educational Foundation Fund which offers scholarships to deserving students for their one year foundation course.

Quote:

" One is that past policies benefitting the Malays must not be at the expense of the non-Malays. For example, educational and employment policies favouring Malays have led to the exodus of some of the brightest and best non-Malays in the past thirty years.

This out-migration has been a national tragedy as they could have helped build a better future for all Malaysians, especially the young Malays needing better jobs.

Today, we have a ridiculous situation of the BN government belatedly recognizing the folly of racial exclusionary policies and attempting to attract Malaysians to return to help create jobs for our young."

Although the tone of his reply is kind of personal in nature, I would like to highlight the issue of "brain-drain". It is a global trend, that those really bright talented people will prefer to work in developed nations. Everyone, if given a choice would pick, for example, USA or UK over Vietnam or Sudan. Although policies do play a role in this, but I would not say it is the only reason. Which is why I think their "efforts" in attracting overseas "talented" Malaysians back is just for show.

From my observation, business investments, local or foreign, in Malaysia is declining.  Even GLCs and government agencies are investing overseas. Jobs will be getting lesser in the coming years. The reason is because the cake is not growing. As a result, slices are getting thinner as it is shared around. The solution? Obviously, it's to grow the cake. And most of the people in the government, in BN, in PR, has got no clue how to do it. Those that do, finds that it takes tremendous courage and political will to do it. So, the easy way out is to cast the net wide and hope to score a catch.