KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 — The other races in the country are not being sidelined as statistics show that they have better opportunities for employment in the public and private sectors.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Joseph Entulu Belaun, said there were 44.83 per cent Chinese employed in the public and private sectors, followed by Indians at 42.08 per cent and Malays at 39.32 per cent.

“These percentages show that there is no sidelining of the other races including the Chinese and Indians. At an unemployment rate of around two per cent, it means that everyone has a job.

“Hence, this proves that the government does not sideline any race in providing jobs in the public and private sectors,” he said in winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2014 in the Dewan Negara, here, today.

The country’s population statistics show the Malays making up 54.83 per cent, Chinese 24.14 per cent, Indians 7.24 per cent, Bumiputera 12.8 per cent and other races 9.2 per cent.

Entulu rejected the claim that the government gave priority to Malays in job applications to join the public sector.

He said the Public Service Department statistics showed that out of 1.6 job applications received from Malays between January and October this year, only 22,000 were accepted.

“This means that only 1.4 per cent of the Malay applicants were recruited into the public sector compared to 2.03 per cent for the Indians and 5.49 per cent for the Chinese.”

He said job applications from other ethnic groups like the Iban and Orang Ulu were also considered by the government.

Currently, the number of public servants stands at 2.05 million.

In 2011, the government had recruited 36,810 people into the public sector and 47,335 in 2012, an increase of 22.24 per cent. — Bernama