PARLIAMENT | Pakatan Harapan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail has questioned the rationale behind the director-general of Special Affairs Department (Jasa) Mohd Puad Zarkashi receiving more than RM20,000 a month in wages.

Wan Azizah told the Dewan Rakyat today that this is more than the monthly salary of the communications and multimedia minister - who heads the ministry under which Jasa is located - but who only receives a salary of RM14,907 per month.

Under the Senarai Perjawatan 2018 (Staff List 2018), Jasa's director-general is paid up to RM20,592 a month under salary code VU7, which is more than the pay received by the communications and multimedia minister," she said.

"Jasa has a total staff of 272 and they will be paid RM12.8 million. What is the rationale for the emolument when Jasa is merely a campaigner for Umno-BN?" Wan Azizah asked. 

She further questioned the necessity for the Jasa chief to be paid more than a minister and civil servants who have worked for decades. 

"They should be paid directly by (the) Umno and BN headquarters instead of money from public funds," she added. 

When winding up the Budget 2018 debate, Deputy Communications and Multimedia Minister Jailani Johari (photo) said the salary of the Jasa director-general was fixed by the Finance Ministry. 

"The director-general's salary was determined by MOF even before he is appointed by Public Service Commission (SPA)," he explained.

According to Jailani, Jasa's duties include arranging plans, executing strategic programmes and activities, as well as educating and persuading the people about the government's policies and current issues based on facts. 

He added that Jasa aimed to affect change in the public perception towards globalisation, and to analyse public attitudes towards the government's policies. 

"Jasa's role is to offer explanations on the government's policies and current issues.

"This is in line with the aim of Jasa's establishment, which is to preserve and protect political stability by providing the public with a good and accurate awarness (of current affairs)."

The government's propaganda arm is often seen as a tool to attack the opposition and counter issues that are deemed detrimental to BN. 

It was earlier reported that Jasa would adopt a "concrete facts” approach to address various current issues in facing the 14th General Election.

Jailani also took the opportunity to explain the additional budgetary allocation for Jasa. He noted that the department needed a 31.1 percent increase in Budget 2018 to pay staff salaries.

This is because a total of 177 staff who have worked over 15 years have been promoted as permanent staff, he said. 

In Budget 2018, Jasa was allocated RM30 million compared to RM22.9 million for 2017, part of the RM603 million increase to the Communication and Multimedia Ministry's budget as a whole.