Shahrir doubts MB's sincerity, moots pay hike index
BN Backbenchers Club chairperson Shahrir Samad has questioned Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim’s sincerity in saying he will back a motion to raise pay hikes for Members of Parliament.
BN Backbenchers Club chairperson Shahrir Samad has questioned Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim’s sincerity in saying he will back a motion to raise pay hikes for Members of Parliament.
Shahrir said Khalid’s statement sounded like he was “trying to cover up (his) mistake” of raising the pay of Selangor assemblypersons without indexing it to the average national income (GDP per capita).
He added that in Australia, the index used for an elected representative’s pay is three times the average national income and by this standard, the Selangor lawmakers will be paid too much.
“If in Selangor the GDP per capita is about RM40,000 per year, then they should pay only about RM10,000 per month...
“So I question the Selangor MB’s sincerity in supporting a pay rise for MPs. Don’t try to cover up your mistake,” Shahrir told reporters at the Parliament lobby.
Shahrir, who is also Johor Bahru MP, said there was also dishonesty over the total benefits enjoyed by elected representatives, including tax-free allowances.
And, we also get pension...
"Plus, we receive pension. Not mentioning this means we are not making a full disclosure.
"Because of the pension element, it is often understood that the pay in the public service is lower than in the private sector," he said.
"We will be enjoying pensions later, so our pay should not be the same as the top four percent of Malaysians."
Shahrir said if Selangor claimed its GDP per capita was higher, it also needed to ask if this was achieved simply because of the state government alone.
"This is why we see that the elected representatives of the other states set their remuneration lower than parliamentarians," he said.
He said that the MP's pay is now indexed at 2.1 to the GDP per capita and this index must be considered to ensure the income gap with the average man is not so large.
Khalid has said he will support a pay rise for MPs, following criticism of the Selangor government raising the salaries of the assemblypersons and the menteri besar salary by 87 to 373 percent.
