KUALA KUBU BAHARU – Opposition leaders should publicly state that they do not agree with the salary increase for civil servants instead of mocking it, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said.
Saifuddin threw this challenge in response to Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who said the wage hike would have no meaning in the grand scheme of things due to higher living costs.
“I want to say to Wan Fayhsal, please state your position that you do not agree with the civil servant salary increase announcement now,” Saifuddin said at an event here today.
“We ask of him and his colleagues to please say that you disagree with the salary increase for civil servants and will refuse the budget that will be included.
“Now is the time for them to say that they will not support (the salary increase), this will make it easier for the people of Kuala Kubu Baharu to vote (in the by-elections),” he told reporters after attending an Aidilfitri event at Kuala Kubu Baharu’s police academy.
He was responding to Wan Fayhsal, who is Machang MP, who said yesterday that the rising price of goods would nullify the impact of a salary hike.
A salary increase of above 13% for civil servants was announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Labour Day recently.
The increase will start on December 1, but first has to be approved by MPs under the national budget that will be tabled in Parliament in October.
Anwar has said he expects the increase to be approved by the MPs, as it is not something lawmakers would easily reject.
Saifuddin today denied the salary increase announcement was a by-election “sweetener” for the Kuala Kubu Baharu polls to be held on May 11, as plans for the increment were already made a year ago.
“The by-elections are ongoing; the announcement of this review was made a year ago; we did not know a year ago that there would be a vacancy here. You can make your own conclusion just by looking at the timeline,” he said.
Saifuddin also said the salary increase will benefit 142,000 police officers and support groups.
“They are one of the largest groups that will reap the benefits announced by the prime minister,” he said. – May 3, 2024