Parliament panel proposes to raise MPs’ salaries, allowances

ARCHIVES 2013

By admin-s On Dec 5, 2013

The Dewan Rakyat’s House Committee had a meeting this week to decide on increasing the salary of members of parliament.

(TMI) – Salaries and meeting allowances of Malaysian federal lawmakers are expected to more than double to at least RM16,000 and RM500 respectively under a proposal to be tabled today, weeks after pay hikes in several states caused a stir among some political parties last week.

A member of parliament (MP) now earns a basic salary of RM6,508.59 and a meeting allowance of RM200 per day. There are other allowances that total to about RM5,000 a month, according to the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act.

An MP, who asked not to be named, said the Dewan Rakyat’s House Committee met this week to decide on the new salaries and allowances, following pay hikes for assemblymen in Sarawak, Selangor and Penang.

“An MP’s pay is to go up to RM16,000 which is a Jusa A or divisional secretary’s salary. That, plus allowances, will could push our pay up to RM35,000 a month,” the veteran lawmaker told The Malaysian Insider.

Another source said the House Committee, headed by Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia, has reached an agreement on the new salaries and allowances. There are six other members in the committee, including two opposition lawmakers.

The salaries of MPs and elected government representatives are governed by the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act.

This includes the salaries of the prime ,inister (RM 22,826.65), deputy prime minister (RM18,168.15), minister (RM14,907.20), member of senate (RM4,112.79), MPs (RM6,508.59) and the leader of the opposition (additional RM3,846.59).

MPs are also given allowable claims under the Statute Paper 235 of the act, including entertainment (RM1,500), driver (RM1,200), travel (RM1,500), telephone (RM900) and a daily allowance of RM200, apart from meetings by government agencies which are set at RM150 a day.