Sagah: What happened to Special Sarawak Recruitment initiative; why include Malayan candidates now?

SIBU: Education, Innovation and Talent Development Minister Datuk Seri Roland Sagah Wee Inn is disappointed with the Special Sarawak Recruitment initiative.

The initiative was supposed to have addressed the state’s shortage of primary and secondary school teachers.

“I personally feel very disappointed because this was supposed to be an initiative solely for Sarawakians. But now, they are saying that they will also interview candidates from other parts of Malaysia.

“Of course, the power is in their hands, the authority lies with the Public Services Commission (SPP).

“We have no say in it, but I feel as though they are not honouring their promise,” he told a press conference at a renowned hotel here today.

Sagah emphasised that Sarawak never said it couldn’t interview candidates from other states, but if the authorities had need to, they should do it at a different time.

Meanwhile, asked how many of the shortlisted applicants were called for interviews, he said he had yet to receive the data.

However, for applicants with a degree in education, about 300 non-Sarawakians were listed.

Asked to comment further on viral posts circulating online, claiming that more non-Sarawakians than Sarawakians had been shortlisted for interviews under the initiative, Sagah denied the rumour, saying the data is yet to be made available.

“That’s why I don’t want them to do this (open it to all of Malaysians). Saying that there are more non-Sarawakians is not fair. We have to be consistent and reasonable.

“We don’t know yet how many will be selected to fill the positions. Only at the end of the process will we know,” he said.

He stressed that he hopes 100 per cent of the more than 2,000 vacant positions will be filled by Sarawakians, and that the SPP will do its best to work with all the Sarawakian candidates.

“So, we ask that this be reserved solely for Sarawak, because from the very beginning, we have said that this recruitment is for Sarawakians. So, we want to keep it that way.

“Of course, we cannot stop them from hiring others, but let that be done on another occasion, not at the same time as this. This has caused dissatisfaction among the applicants,” he added.

The initiative received more than 15,000 applicants, and only about 6,000 have been shortlisted for in-person interviews, which will be held in three locations, namely Kuching, Sibu, and Miri.

Also present were Chief Political Secretary to the Premier who is also Tupong assemblyman Fazzrudin Abdul Rahman and councillor Raden Khairulzaman Raden Bustari.