Recruitment Practices in the Malaysian Public Sector: Innovations or Political Responses?

Abstract

An efficient, competitive, and resilient civil service depends largely on the quality of its human resources. The key to achieving this goal is to implement human resource management policies that attract, develop, and retain the best talent. Malaysia is a multiethnic country. The large size and role of the Malaysian civil service underline not only the importance of civil service performance but equal employment opportunities as well. The increasingly mono-ethnic civil service has highlighted issues of representation and responsiveness to all ethnic groups. To rectify the ethnic imbalance in the civil service, the Malaysian Public Service Commission has initiated innovations in its recruitment practices to attract more non-Malay job seekers. The purpose of this article is to examine how the personnel recruitment practices of the Malaysian public sector are affecting the representativeness and performance of its civil service.