MPs’ Allowances Cut Off By 10%
By Zul • Jun 11th, 2008 • Category: All Things Malaysia •
As part of the effort to offset the effect of fuel price hike, the Malaysia government has announced a 10% cut off the entertainment allowances (elaun keraian) for the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
The change will take effect beginning 1 July 2008. This is also part of the initiative to reduce the government spending by some RM2 billion. Apart from the 10% slash of the allowance, the ministers’ paid holidays will also now be limited to local and Asian destinations. Additionally, the number of officers traveling for official international trips and events will be capped at 3 persons at one time.
At the moment, the Prime Minister is enjoying RM18,865 of entertainment allowance, the Deputy Prime Minister RM15,015, Full Ministers RM12,320 and Deputy Minister RM6,000. The figures, which are monthly allocations, raised the eye brows of a big chunk of the country’s citizens, who consider them as unrealistically high.
Prior to the announcement, a number of bodies and public figures have called for the cutting off of the minister’s allowances. The Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affair, Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, responded by saying that such measure is unreasonable and that the call for the allowance reduction came with a sentiment of hate. The government’s announcement however suggested otherwise.
Nevertheless, a group NGOs has responded pessimistically and reasoned that a mere 10% slashing is not enough, as there should be more honest effort to reduce the government spending.
In a separate event, the Terengganu state government, through its Chief Minister Datuk Ahmad Said, announced that the allowance for the state Exco members will be cut off by the same percentage, i.e. 10%.
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