The salary increment and salary cut to be given as a donation to a charity fund by the Selangor exco is nothing but a political gimmick. This is just like a sales tactic used by supermarkets which first mark up prices before giving discounts; the state government, too, is using the donation as an excuse to cover up their dramatic pay hike.

The salary hike announced by the Pakatan Rakyat state government during the high inflation period has drawn backfire from the people, hence the state government had imposed a salary cut on the menteri besar, exco members, speaker and deputy speaker which will be channelled to a state-run charity fund. This beautiful excuse is nothing more than an ordinary sales tactic.

If the state government truly understands the people’s hardship, it would not need to have the salary increment, before later cutting their salaries in an attempt to cheat the people.

The people are like consumers, and they will only learn their lesson after “buying” the product at a marked-up price. Thus, they too will only learn about the capabilities of a political party in how it runs the state. The Klang Valley water crisis is one of the best examples of the incompetency of the current state government.

The people are now suffering from water rationing, and if the state government really cares about the people, it should immediately resolve the issue instead of busying themselves with their salary increment at the expense of the people’s welfare and interest, which are being sacrificed in their political game.

NG CHOK SIN is MCA central committee member and Selangor MCA state liaison committee secretary.