The pay hikes for the Selangor Mentri Besar, executive councillors, Speaker, deputy Speaker and assembly members are excessive and come at a time when the rakyat are feeling the pinch of the higher cost of living.
What do you think? Looks like the poll below shows less than 50 per cent of you think the pay hikes are justified.
[yop_poll id=”6″]
Now, the Selangor state government, especially MB Khalid, has done a commendable job in managing the state, its finances and especially the water issue under very trying circumstances. It has also managed to accumulate reserves for the state – though like many others, I believe that some of this money should be used to ease the pressure on the lower-income groups in the state.
But the timing of such hefty pay hikes and the quantum is ill advised. The rakyat are bracing themselves for more difficult times ahead.
Sarawak is not the best example to follow for obvious reasons. Chief Minister Taib Mahmud’s administration is not something to emulate.
The other reason why this is not a good idea, is that hefty pay hikes will push the people’s elected representatives into the top 5 per cent of even top 1 per cent of Malaysians in terms of income. This will make it difficult for them to empathise with the hardship faced by not just the lower-income group but even the middle-income earners (of which there are many in Selangor). The ordinary rakyat would be lucky to even get a 25 per cent pay hike while elected reps with higher incomes will have little clue about how the rest of the population are coping.
The comparison with salaries in the corporate sector is misleading. Being in government means being in public service whereas the corporate sector is primarily motivated by profits and market share, not the public interest or the welfare of low-income workers.
You want to attract honest, capable people in government especially those who are motivated to serve the public (you know, a bit of altruism) not those who are motivated by money, attractive salaries and perks, which the private sector offers. The most qualified people looking for high salaries may not be concerned about the public interest or serving the rakyat, especially the poor.
By the way, this blog also criticised the hefty pay hikes in Sarawak, though as I said the situation there is quite different with all the questionable deals, leakages and money politics.
To reiterate, Khalid and his team have done well in managing the state’s finances despite all the obstacles, but the pay hikes are hefty and will not go down well with many, especially in this difficult economic situation. They should be reconsidered.
The final word to PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali:
Aku stuju kalau gaji mb, exco n adun naik sikit. Tapi aku tak faham kenapa naik gitu tinggi skali. Macam nak menghina.
— Syed Husin Ali (@syedhusinali) November 28, 2013
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In the past teachers were revered as dedicated selfless educators. Now people do not want to be educators in the civil service because its low paying. Same thing with doctors, as may of them can’t wait to join the private sector. What I am saying is, the values in the present times are different, and finances are one of the main motivators. I think its time to employ professional, skilful administrators who are held accountable. Its ok to pay them more, but we want them to be accountable to KPIs, cannot hold any other jobs or business interests, adhere to… Read more »
YBs are not full-time. They can continue with whatever profession that they are doing.
Excos are different. They manage the affairs of the states.
Singapore model is to value the contribution of head of states in accordance with the private sector and as such is benchmarked against that.
But what is the difference between the private sector and the public sector. In the private sector the directors are responsible for the bottom line and if they don’t perform they will be sacked. In the public sector the CEO could squander away billions and yet are not accountable.
To manage to increase the state coffers, good. To have a pay rise, good but to go that high, bad move. Insensitive, a little bit. Ignorance, maybe.
While majority of the comments are written in support of the huge increment, I am taking note that the results of the poll seems to suggest otherwise with only 30% of the respondents in favour of the increment as at 22:15 2/12/2013. And I also noticed that the percentage of those in favour is shrinking by the days. I wonder whether this development has any connection with the arrogant or dismissive public remarks made by Khalid & company (eg. already passed, therefore cannot change; those among you who disagree are free to donate them away; if you do not agree,… Read more »
In business world, if you want performers and results, you have to pay high salary to attract talent. BN is getting worried that hugh pay for YBs legally will mean more abled young professionals will be attracted to join and serve Pakatan without forgoing their exisiting good pay in the private sector. The new pay for these YBs is still low compared to what the executives and GMs get in the business world. Anyway, only a small group is paid highly, unlike those deadwoods in the bloated civil service (1.5 million!) that get bonuses and pay rise regardless of how… Read more »
We’ll said, OWC.
Some good comments on Malaysiakini on this issue: Top Umno leaders in the government do not need any pay rise. The kickbacks, commissions and rent seeking are probably already making them multi millionaires. The difference between Najib’s government and Selangor MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim’s is Najib runs a budget deficit while Khalid runs a surplus. Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor spend recklessly while Khalid and his wife spend prudently. while Selangor voters may not all agree with the huge pay hike, it is still cheaper than the RM500 million paid as commission for the two Scorpene submarines, which is… Read more »
@ najibmanakau & @ DonA you tihink if we list all that… sau-kiu public’s money from 1987, can we can build a sebterranean underwater bridge across the South China Sea to Sarawak? Then we can have the Indons, Suluks and all the Orang Asal as well as all the Instant citizens -for- votes from Mustapha Harun days living harmoniously as 1Malaysia in the real sense of the word. Of course, MAS will fare better as more riches from Sabah and Sarawak are equally distributed among the 28 million population! Abu Sayaf and Sulu nationals will also be able to have… Read more »
Pakatan should be happy if other states and PutraJaya emulate Selangor. At least their MPs and ADUNs will have sufficient money and funds to run services to their constituents. Everyone knows BN reps don’t need those underpaid salaries and allowances. They get a lot from the PM dept or from political patronages.
Anil, Here I am , as requested, resubmitting what I want to say for your perusal. You pay peanuts and you get monkeys or you pay what you get. What they are getting may appear to be a lot but just look at the ‘small’ amounts the past Umno morons were getting. A good example is how can with such meagre salary Toyo was able to buy and live in a Bali style mansion ? What about the late Datuk Harun, another Selangor MB, was (said to be able) to afford to own a five star multi story hotel right… Read more »
Going into their 2nd 5 year term, they have weathered the storm, and are now ready to serve well.
Bear in mind, they cannot be complacent, less they simply drop out in the next election.Pay them well so that they are committed to the rakyat. Serve well. Have a decently good life. They may not be getting any increment over the next 10 years.
The analogy of planting orchids. Until the roots are permanently holding on to the flower pots, they will not bear flowers.
are we second class to Selangorian or are we kuching kurap in their eyes
The quantum of pay rise depends ‘subjectively’ on the level of state development, economic achievements, state coffer, living standards & political influence as in the case of Selangor. Nothing is equal. It may be true or preferred to a certain degree that a country or state be run like a corporation administering the scarce resources (including human resource) & financial aspects. But the social one is the moral responsibility (first & foremost) of elected representatives to see to the Rakyat’s needs & wants. It can be argued till the cows come home, the legitimacy of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs of… Read more »
My guess is it is from the state coffers.
Anyone wants to see the results of the same poll held by Helen in her blog?
http://helenang.wordpress.com/2013/11/30/results-opinion-poll-on-selangor-payrise-comparison/
Some people only willing to pay cheap price for security guards and expect them to take care of their safety and valuables. Cleaning public toilets in Malaysia for example, only few people can do it but very low pay.
Communication Director Tabong Haji RM70,00 a month. Why Assemblymen only RM11,000
Anyone care to guess how much the SPM hand-kisser get atop Tabung Haji as its chairman? Link this to the millions donated to PLOs and Gaza Palestinians? Might hold the key why a NO-brainer got the juiciest position for Jumaah Haji. JKB said there are over 1 million hopeful Haji candidates who paid but still On waiting list. That’s how much money TH has bUT with bad investments, has been losing from 1997! Imagine 5years wait for turn – you could be dead, and JKB is a good Muslim! NajiBoros is a god-fearing bin Tun Razak! Loads of setan and… Read more »
Anil,
Why has my posting been deleted ?
Which posting is that? I don’t see anything here. Could you resubmit please.
Anil,
tokong has patted his back(?)) – no more question mark, confirm is true.. he was then asked to assist Ir Lim to chart the bus routes. i didn’t make up story, it come from the horse mouth…dont play play,now he’s the tokong’s pet..ha!ha!ha!
To make a long story short; let us evaluate in the years before the next GE, whether the work put in by the Selangor state assemblymen is worth the ‘huge’ pay rise that they have given themselves. If we are not happy, we can throw them out and reinstate UMNO/BN as the ruling party. In the meantime, let’s get on with the work at hand.
I concur with Dr Husin.
The Pakatan reps in the Selangor State Assembly have done a good job and somemay have taken a sizeable salary cut to serve the people, but the massive hike is too much.
Also opens the door to all sorts of finger pointing – possibly with some justification – by BN and others.
And also opened the door for other state assemblies to OK equally massive pay hikes even if their MBs, Exco’s and ADUNs may not have done a good job, and their states cannot afford the hikes.
Yes, Perak and Johore will follow suit together with Penang
I remember when I was in government service in a Selangor district more than 25 years ago, there was a young clerk in my office. He was a youth leader in the ruling party at the division level. A few years later, he was already a millionaire when he was awarded state land by the government. He was still a clerk then and as time has proven; will not even rise to be an ADUN, MP or minister. That was 25 years ago and things have gotten from bad to worse. We expect PR politicians to be our white knights;… Read more »
Based on the results, 23% prefer a smaller increase; 32% are not in favor of the hike. So a total of 55% are not in complete favor of the hike (from a sample of 563 votes, at the time of this comment). Reputed pollster Merceka Ctr normally samples around 1000 respondents in a given sample; so, the 563 votes sampled here could be a near decent and acceptable statistic of the mass view? But would that be telling enough for the Sgor government to bring this to the people to obtain their consensus? Or would they ignore the noises coming… Read more »
I have no doubt about the need for a salary increment. But it should also be tied to meeting some key tangible performance indicators such as reduction of leakages, improved delivery of services to the public, proper maintenance of public amenities, etc. Perhaps an increase of 30% to 50% and a bonus for meeting the performance indicators with a higher bonus quantum if significant results are obtained. Then you can say you are following the private sector practice (at least at MNC’s).
The pay raise is long overdue. Today’s Rakyat expects a lot form Reps and with their meagre allowances, they are actually so hard pressed to fulfil Rakyats’ request for aid. As Reps, they are Rakyat’ employee and so we can afford to pay them especially in Selangor after such wonderful governing by PR…Yes!!! Yes!!! Yes!!!
ken, Way to achieve high income status while the rakyat average and minimum pay is only RM900 per month
greed & power in hand cos corruption, it has nothing to do with salary. those public servants & politicians caught by anti corruption agency are mostly well paid, sport minister & a top Constitutional Court judge in Indonesia plus ling liong sik & other ministers accused of corruption or abuse of power, all of them are rich beyond the dream of avarice. closer to us, there is our Sdr, X (now he is no longer the rabble rouser he used to be cos the … tokong has patted his back(?)) whose salary is more than rm10k but he is still… Read more »
Many people forgot that this CM is not like the other CM who rose from rank & file from POLITICS ,here this guy is a is coming from the private sector a giant & in the private sector u perform u get fat salary u under perform the bus is waiting hop in and get lost simple as that ,u see if the assemblymen are given fat pay checks they will not in for corruption as the bribes given should match the money given & in most cases it does not work.. Furthermore Politician are on call 24 hours a… Read more »
Khalid all in salary including MB, state assemblyman, MP and attending board meeting will come to more than 50k. It will soon been 60+K as his MP salary in this case is only counted as 6k. Don`t you think Ah Cheap will up the MP salary at least 300% to 18+K. There is no reason for an MP salary to be less than a state assemblyman salary like 11k in Selangor and 15k in Sarawak. So brace for their increase as well as an increase in our suffering with hike in assessment and quit rent, electricity, petrol, water, utilities and… Read more »
The job involves hard work and long hours serving the rakyat. The salary increment is timely and the quantum given is more or less on par with some of the top professionals in the private sector. Way to go to achieve high income status.