SHAH ALAM, 28 Nov: Everyone has been asked to stop politicising the issue of the salary hike for the Chief Minister, Executive Councillors and Assemblymen of Selangor.
The Selangor Backbenchers Club Deputy Chairman, Dr Abdul Rani Osman, criticised those who are making a big deal out of the issue when the same salary hike in Sarawak did not receive coverage from the mass media.
“Why is it that when the allowance for Assemblymen in Sarawak increased, the issue was not made a fuss of? All Assemblies in the country will increase the allowance of Assemblymen in stages.
“There is no problem. In fact, from the perspective of Islam, there are no restrictions as long as it is done the right way,” said the Selangor PAS Commissioner in a press conference at the Selangor State Assembly (DNS) lobby today.
Previously, the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) approved the salary increase for the Chief Minister, the Deputy Chief Minister, senior ministers and Assemblymen, with a higher total increase compared to Selangor.
However, the Meru Assemblyman said that the BBC denies that the increase is contained in the memorandum submitted to the Chief Minister recently, which instead touched on the issue of provisions for the people.
“The memorandum was in reference to call to channel allocations directly for the welfare of the people,” he said, adding that Barisan Nasional (BN) leaders too welcomed the increase in salary.
Promising to continue to serve the people well, the Sekinchan Assemblyman, Ng Suee Lim, said that the increase is not to be luxurious or proud, instead it is to increase commitment to care for the welfare of the people.
“The Pakatan Rakyat (PR) political culture is to eliminate the element of corruption. We do not take projects from outside compared to former (BN) representatives of the people.
“Representatives of the people from PR should have an adequate allowance so that we do not take projects or sweep-up land. Previously, BN did not care about allowances, but placed importance on projects.
