KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — After a week of bickering in the assembly, all 40 Penang Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional (BN) lawmakers banded together in rare move today to approve the state's salary hike proposal.
At the call for vote, the representatives gave the state the green light to bump up the wages of all state assemblymen by over 88 per cent, with each to receive RM6,000 instead of RM4,112.79, beginning June this year.
In the blanket hike, state Opposition Leader Datuk Jahara Hamid, who has been locking horns with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng over the latter's “racist grandmother” label on her, will see her allowance doubled from RM1,000 to RM2,000.
According to news portal The Malaysian Insider, the amendments to the Members of Administration and Members of the Legislative Assembly (Remuneration) 1980 will also include death and disability benefits for assemblymen, the chief minister, state executive councillors and the assembly Speaker.
State elected representatives will also get bigger allowances from RM2,000 to RM5,500, comprising up to RM1,500 for “special allowance”, RM1,500 for fixed allowance for driver, RM1,000 for fixed transport and miscellaneous expenses, and RM500 for housing.
Including their salaries and the allowances, the representatives will now receive a total salary of RM11,500 monthly, up 88.13 per cent from the previous RM6,112.79.
Accordinging to news portal Malaysiakini, Umno backbenchers even mooted an additional pay hike for Lim, on top of the 88 per cent raise, because he “works so hard”.
“The CM works so hard that he has no time and must send a representative to attend meetings on his behalf,” Muhammad Farid Saad (BN-Pulau Betong) was quoted as saying of Lim, who is also the DAP secretary-general.
The surprising statement was backed by another Umno leader, Mahmud Zakaria, who reportedly suggested an even higher raise for Lim at 15 per cent, as well as for the state executive councillors.
“Since this side (opposition leader Jahara Hamid) got a pay hike (100 per cent increase), the other side (Pakatan Rakyat) should get it too.
“It is timely for Jahara to get the pay hike since there are many challenges for her to face, especially when there is so much discussion about gender issues in this session,” the Sungai Acheh assemblyman was quoted as saying.
Penang's salary hike comes on the heels of Selangor's highly-criticised recent announcement of a 87 per cent pay hike for its state representatives (from RM6,000 to RM11,250), a 268 per cent hike for the Speaker from RM6,109.29 to RM22,500 and a 373 per cent hike for the deputy Speaker from RM3,327.50 to RM15,750.
Selangor's state executive councillors will also see a pay hike of 231 per cent from RM6,109.29 to RM20,250 while the Menteri Besar will have a pay rise of 106.4 per cent from RM14,175 to RM29,250.
