Here are some of the issues raised, and my response to them. 1. No party consultation    Many politicians from Pakatan Rakyat questioned why the MB made the decision without consulting the party and Pakatan Rakyat (PR) alliance’s leadership as this would bring bad light on the political parties, especially the PR alliance.

Initially, I also thought that it was poor judgement not to consult the party and PR leadership but after giving it thought, I felt that the MB was right to separate state governance from party politics, which is laudable, in my opinion. 2. Comparison with BN’s salaries  Some also compared the salary given to the MB and Speaker of Selangor State Assembly to that received by the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister as well as other Menteri Besar from other States.

I ask: Is Barisan Nasional the standard we want to follow and compare with? Two wrongs do not make one right.   Salaries given should reflect abily and performance. Are these salary hikes justifiable?

If we look at the roles the MB, State Executive Council (EXCO), State Assemblymen (SA) and Speaker of the State Assembly play, we can equate them to that of the top management of any corporations.

Considering that the MB is actually playing the role of a CEO to approximately 5.5 million Selangorians, I think the salary is well justified in comparison with any top-level management salaries in a multi-national corporation (MNC).   The increase was all the more justified after the Government of Selangor under Pakatan Rakyat have increased the cash reserves of the State from RM760 million up to RM2.8 billion over the past five years.

This salary hike was at the back of the increase of cash reserves in the State, unlike some companies who pay out millions to their CEO even after making losses (insert SYABAS). Adding to that, the State has also been giving about RM800 million back to the rakyat through its “Merakyatkan Ekonomi Selangor” programme over the past five years. 3. Too high, when others earn low wages?   Some may also question the rationale in paying the MB, EXCO, SA and Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly so much when most working-class people are earning much less than that. For me, the real problem we need to deal with is to increase the earning capacity of the rakyat.   It is a known fact that cost of living is rising and salary has been more or less stagnant for the past decade or so. The Government has to play its role in growing the economy and bring in investments to help the rakyat’s earning capacity. For that to happen, the Government must attract capable leaders and policy makers to govern, manage and grow the economy.   How can the Government attract capable leaders when the salary being offered is so much lower than in the corporate world? As the saying goes, “If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys”. And we know that monkeys can’t help raise the standard of living of its rakyat, as seen in a certain government that has governed for the past 56 years. 4. Pay them what they’re worth!  There is this common misconception about governments and NGOs in particular, which is to keep salary and overhead costs low so that more of the money goes to the people.

I strongly believe that the taxpayers’ money should be spent on the developing and improving the quality of life of the taxpayers themselves but a government also needs to attract capable people to govern and bring in investments to grow the economy further and benefit the rakyat even more in the long run.   I’m disturbed by this misconception people have because it is akin to promoting modern slavery. We see many young, talented and capable leaders who gave up their careers to join politics and be part of this nation-building process. These people have qualifications that could easily earn them much more than they are paid now but they took the step of faith and forgo those benefits for the rakyat.   I’m a strong advocate for paying someone their due. If they deserve it, pay them accordingly for their work. Judging by the performance of the Selangor State Government in the past five years, they have grown the economy and they have also increased their budget annually to provide for more development in the State.

No doubt, there is more that can and should be done, but it has only been five years, and there will be more to come.  p.s.: This is one good TedTalk video on the misconception of NGOs, which sometimes applies in the case of governments.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malay Mail Online.