Selangor State Govt is Taking People for Granted
With this salary increase, Selangor state representatives will at a stroke, be getting a monthly salary (excluding allowances) of more than RM15,000 that puts them in the top 10 per cent income earners in our society! When that happens, will they still be seen leading the 90% to OCCUPY Dataran Merdeka to protest against the 10% who lord over us?
Dr Kua Kia Soong, SUARAM Adviser
By arrogating such an obscene pay increase to the MB, Speaker and other state representatives – ranging from 100 to 370 per cent – the Pakatan Rakyat-run Selangor State Government has taken the peoples’ goodwill for granted and betrayed the principles they have claimed to uphold as ethical representatives of the people.
When the people voted in the Pakatan Rakyat to run the Selangor state government, they had expectations of a government that would radically reform economic, political, social and cultural life, along egalitarian and democratic lines, in sharp contrast with the self-interested style of the pro-rich Barisan Nasional.
And now we behold the spectacle of the BN Prime Minister accusing the PR-run Selangor state government of hypocrisy by enriching themselves, and so soon after the 2013 election.
Isn’t it indeed hypocritical when the Mentri Besar gives himself a salary that is higher than the Prime Minister’s?
No attempt to justify
What’s appalling is that the Selangor state government has not even tried to justify this scandalously high salary increase to the people whose hard earned money will be footing the bill, i.e. the tax payers. Instead, their first response was to wash dirty linen in public by pointing out that the Mentri Besar’s party rival, Azmin Ali should have opposed the enactment in the state assembly instead of speaking out after the event.
If Pakatan Rakyat was to be true to it’s stated principles, their de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would have apologised to their constituents for the Selangor state government’s shameless self-enrichment enactment. He would also assure us that this was some wild aberration of a state government that is inconsistent with “reformasi”. Instead, he missed the point by asking PR representatives to donate a small portion of their self-arrogated wealth to charity, money that rightfully belongs to the tax payers in the first place!
Workers have always had to justify any pay increase by referring to percentage points in productivity levels and inflation rates, so how do these state representatives justify such an exorbitant salary increase?
Social equity – the first pillar of ‘Reformasi’
How often have we heard PR leaders decrying BN policies and actions that have caused greater and greater social inequity in Malaysian society? And how often have we heard PR leaders berating their members to lead by example by serving the people as Yang Berkhidmats?
Yet, what has PR done to ensure the implementation of the minimum wage in Selangor, Penang and Kelantan in the face of opposition from employers? Given that the government and employers tell the underpaid workers in this country that they cannot afford to pay a minimum wage of RM900, how can Pakatan Rakyat arrogate such an obscene pay rise in such a cavalier manner?
With this salary increase, Selangor state representatives will at a stroke, be getting a monthly salary (excluding allowances) of more than RM15,000 that puts them in the top 10 per cent income earners in our society! When that happens, will they still be seen leading the 90% to OCCUPY Dataran Merdeka to protest against the 10% who lord over us?
Is PR aping Lee Kuan Yew’s plutocracy?
Lee Kuan Yew has tried to justify the PAP’s fabulously paid government officials by saying: “Low salaries will draw in the hypocrites who sweet talk their way into power in the name of public service, but once in charge will show their true colour, and ruin the country.”
With the Selangor state government’s attempt to follow this PAP logic, one could well turn LKY’s dictum around into: “High salaries will draw in the hypocrites who sweet talk their way into power in the name of public services…” There is no evidence anywhere in the world that corruption is prevented by awarding large salaries to government officials.
Spend state surplus on public health and social services
If the Selangor state government justifies its fabulous salary increases for government officials by pointing to the surplus in its coffers then it is out of touch with the social conditions in the state:
– Inadequate infrastructure – roads, water pipes and sewerage systems in critical need of upgrading;
– Overwhelmed public health care system with medical professionals needing improved conditions;
– Lack of elderly care centres and support services, including access to mobile health care;
– Low cost housing for the poor and marginalized with adequate space for community activities, recreation and green areas;
– Effective public transport system for the people ;
– State assistance for the unemployed;
– Free/ affordable healthcare for the poor and low income earners.
In conclusion, the PAP government’s volte face of slashing its officials’ ridiculously high salaries after their humiliating losses in the 2012 general election, should have served as a warning to PR…
