KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 ― Members of Parliament will soon see their salaries and allowances bumped up to RM16,000 a month, after the Dewan Rakyat passed amendments to the Members of Parliament (Renumeration) (Amendment) Act early this morning.

The new salary scheme is a near three-fold increase from the previous rate of RM6,508.59, and higher than the initial plan to raise MPs' remunerations to RM11,000 when the amendment Bill was tabled in November last year.

Salaries and allowances for senators ― which was initially set to increase to RM7,000 - will now also nearly triple to RM11,000 from the previous rate of RM4,112.79.

Apart from their basic salary, MPs currently receive a monthly allowance of RM5,000 for entertainment, driver's pay, travel and handphone bill.

They also receive an allowance of RM200 a day when attending Parliamentary sittings and a daily allowance of RM150 to attend meetings with government agencies.

Changes to the initial amendment Bill also bumped up the monthly salaries of the president of the Dewan Negara and Dewan Rakyat speaker to RM31,000. The new salaries were initially set at RM20,000, up from the previous rate of RM14,907.20 listed in the Act.

The Senate deputy president and Deputy Speaker of the house of representatives, meanwhile, will earn RM22,000 a month and not RM16,000 as initially proposed, more than double the current salary of RM10,847.65.

With the revised salaries and allowances, the federal government expects to incur an additional expenditure of RM31,971,981.36 a year.

While tabling the Bill for a second reading yesterday, minister in charge of parliamentary affairs Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said the amendments were made due to current factors which were challenging to federal lawmakers, national news agency Bernama reported.

“In addition, the duty of the Members of Parliament is getting heavier in carrying out the high hopes of the people, and this will boost the spirit of the elected representatives to work with more commitment and dedication,” he said.            

Putrajaya tabled the Bill in the last parliamentary meeting after lawmakers from both sides of the divide called for a review of the initial proposal to review their salaries and allowances.

The last amendment to federal lawmakers’ salary and allowances was a mere increase of RM700 more than a decade ago in 2002.

It was again proposed in 2011, but shelved amid fierce opposition over the suggested quantum.

Putrajaya announced an increase to allowances for the country’s 222 federal lawmakers and 70 senators in Budget 2015, apart from pledging to review the salary schemes of its administrative members, including that of the prime minister, his deputy and all other ministers.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said during the tabling of Budget 2015 that the MPs’ allowances would be increased from the equivalent Grade 54 to the equivalent Grade Jusa C, while senators’ allowances would be increased from the equivalent Grade 48 to the equivalent between Grade 54 and Jusa C.

The Public Service Premier Post (Jusa) is the premium grade position for very senior positions in the civil service.

Meanwhile Grades 41 to 54 are for management and professional positions in the civil service.

According to a 2013 circular by the Civil Service Department, the minimum pay for the Jusa C level is RM7,189.63.