Government had all the good intentions for raising the retirement age to 60 in the public service. It's to retain the services of the well trained and experienced personnel for yet a few more years while the younger ones get their exposure and training. It would also keep able bodied employees to go on working without the having to search for a new job to make ends meet. It would also ensure that experienced workers do not have to leave the service in great numbers leaving greenhorns to handle the job.
BUT the younger people who are searching for employment must necessarily be disturbed. Though government had promised that the creation of new job opportunities will not be jeopardized by the extension in retirement age, it will be the managers who are left to keep the door for new employment open. If they decide to shut the door for a while to take stock of their existing employees, the impact will be strongly felt in the job market, and there's nothing that the government can do to reduce its backlash on the good intention of the policy. The government is certainly putting its future in the hands of the managers.
One obvious response is now seen, from the Public Services itself. It is learnt that the Public Service will not conduct any new recruitment as a result of the extension in retirement age. All existing vacancies will not be filled in. For how long, no one knows. But the universities, the institutions of higher studies and the schools are going to pour out more and more young men and women into the job market. The government being the most important employer in the country would be asking for trouble if the public service closes its door to new recruitment as a result of the newly announced policy.
More importantly, the private sector might follow the Public Service lead. It might also decide to close its door to new recruitment since the attrition rate of existing employees will suddenly take a plunge. Where, therefore, will the new entrants into the labor force go to find jobs? The Public Service should never have frozen efforts to take in new recruits to fill in existing vacancies. It will totally destroy the good intentions of the new government policy. Unless government has other plans to employ the new entrants to the labor force, the action of the Public Service will turn the new policy into a bane.
14 comments:
Akhi Norzah,
I think it is the wrong time. With the impending recession in US and Europe as early as next year, external demand for our goods is reduced. It follows domestic economic activities will also reduce. The job market will be flooded with new entrants unless the govt enhances the situation with projects. Just to appease the Civil Service at the expense of the young job seekers may be unwise! No back tracking now but to implement!
Hank
The timing could be wrong unless the government had some other pressing need to appeace the civil service, Akhi Hank. What is more unfortunate is the response of the civil service itself to the raising of the retiring age to 60. Why immediately holt new recruitments into the civil service thus confirming public suspicion that job opportunities will be reduced by the policy. The civil service should continue to fill in existing vacancies. Only the creation of new vacancies through early retirement will be reduced. Thanks for the quick response. Akhi Halim Shah seems to be very quiet these days.
Many years ago I was involved in a discussion within a group of human resource policy makers. The question of standardising retiring age worldwide was raised. At the end of it one very critical factor that needed to be considered was the demography of any particular country. Where a country had a government policy of encouraging minimum family size, raising the age of retirment could be considered. Preference should be given to employers to offer extension of service rather than employees' right. The reverse was considered true as well.
As Malaysia is a young country with a vey high growth of population (plus increasing number of graduates pouring out from the so called , I see a very serious consequence, may not necessarily be today. One group of employees wll celebrate but soon I fear we have committed to an act that we will find it virtually impossible to reverse without a heavy price to pay.
I share exactly the same fear, Akhi Pakcik Al-Manar, hence the posting but couched in softer terms. One would have thought that there are several wise people advising the PM. In his reply to criticisms on the budget he said that he had experts advising him, " people who are not fools" - ye, what he said could be an understatement. I guess the decision is based on some
inside interest who wanted to remain in the service for a longer period of time.
Well, the decision has bee made and we;ve seen the first response - no intake into the civic service. I'm sure the private sector will follow and will only fill in crucial jobs. The unemployment rate will shoot up and PM might have to shoot down some of his advisers,
Akhi Norzah,
You've dropped by at my 'birdhouse' a few days ago. Thanks! I love to see old photos. I'll certainly look forward to seeing them at your blog. You may even have some on your cousin Zam, maybe. Yes, roll them on!
Hank
You've carefully kept your photographs and stacked them away, Akhi Hank. Mine are scattered everywhere. So it might take a long while before i can reproduce them here. Zam , as far as i can rememner, never took a photograph with me. We hardly met until after becoming old.
Akhi Norzah,
I do not know what happens, Akhi. Tried several times posting my comment without success. I think what you have commented is too polite. I think PM's advisers are either idiots or morons. The job-market will be saturated in time owing to the economic gloom and doom, thus hundreds of thousands of young job seekers wandering around doing nothing. Probably the govt. will have to recruit them to become the people's army.
If you are using an I Pad, it's better to write your comment in the note pad first, Akhi. Then copy it onto the comment box, to avoid interruption by an incoming
entry.
On the subject of my blog. the PM certainly knows his men: otherwise he will end up like his predecessor. The only concern I have is that he seems to be too trusting, being born and bred of noble birth and used to a good life since small. He has not gone through the thorns and ordeals of life , nor any state of impecuniously, to know how people can bluff and cheat to get the best out of you to serve their own agenda. Right now PM seem to ve dishing out money in the millions as if our treasury is inexhaustible.
We might wake up one day with uncontrollable inflation , a staggering deficit and a very high unemployment rate.
Akhi Norzah,
This is what I fear most, too much money chasing after too few goods where we might end up like Zimbabwe. If he is sorrounded by self serving goons, then it is only time that shall see him fall from the pedestal. It is the Nation that will be left in tatters.
Let's hope that our nation and our people will be strong enough to stand on their own even if the the leadership makes a mass of the policies and strategies for development. One thing certain today, the private sector is leading the administration and not the other way round. And we all know who leads the private sector.
Akhi Norzah,
This is the curse of what the policy of privatisation ( or more appropriately deemed to be by the opposition as piratisation) has done to the country. We are now at the mercy of sharks and snakes who swallow everything that can bring in billions if not trillions to their nests which are secretly stashed in tax-free havens offshore. Our public sector are just mere appendages to these buccaneers who rob the treasury in broad daylight.
Yes indeed we are at the mercy of the private sector tycoons, Akhi. That's why prices of essential goods are skyrocketing - gas, electricity, water, cooking oil, sugar... But more inimical to the economy is the marking up of all cost of works. Some say we're paying double for all works because so many parties must be paid to land a big job.
Akhi,
I may be naive to ask this question, what can the citizens do to rid this country of the suckers who are laughing on the way to the banks at the expense of the majority of our people. When I was a student in the University of Malaya, Syed Husin Ali who was then a lecturer told us that the collusion of people who govern us and the capitalists are the ones who exploit the economy for their status quo so that they can fatten themselves. Thus the coalition of various political parties was the mechanism to strengthen this collusion in exploiting the country's resources. How true was he in analysing the scenario until today. If this collusion of exploitation is now being led by tycoons, is it not the time we cut the gordian knot that binds the hideous tentacles that are grasping the throats of the poor masses?
There's no way to end the conspiracy between leaders and capitalists, Akhi, for they exist to quote a Malay proverb like"aur dan tebing". Potong aur tebing runtuh, potong tebing aur runtuh. People say drop BN. What guarantee is there that the party which comes to power will not do the same, enrich thelmselves first before enriching the public.
Dr Syed Husin Ali has always crucified the capitalists and feudalistic leaders who used them for their own ends. But what other system of govt can sidestep the capitalists when even socialism has failed. Benevolent dictatorship or monarchy as practisef by some Islamic states have been shot down bt the western powers, except when the leaders are their close friends.
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