SHAH ALAM, 13 Dec: The low monthly salary makes it difficult for representatives of the people to channel assistance and services effectively to the people in their respective areas, said Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim.
He said that there are representatives, whether Members of Parliament or Assemblymen, who do not work with professional bodies to gain a source of income, but makes politics their permanent jobs.
He said that this is the cause of unwanted incidents, when elected representatives use the wrong way to gain money easily.
“I earn about RM12,000 a month as a Member of Parliament and the income is used to help residents in Bandar Tun Razak.
“But I am lucky because I am still able to survive. But what about young representatives of the people who are just stepping into the political world and do not earn a large income?
“Transparency in an administration cannot be achieved as a result of this,” he said in an interview session on a business radio station BFM 89.9, yesterday.
Being aware of this, Abdul Khalid said that the Selangor government has agreed to increase the salaries of Executive Councillors, the Speaker and her Deputy, and all 56 Assemblymen from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional (BN).
He said that the increase is in line with the growing needs of the people, which is growing in every constituency, and it is hoped to be able to ease the burden of responsible elected representatives.
“I want to show this example to the central government. Actually, it is the government’s responsibility to help elected representatives, especially from the point of service, as done in Germany and the United Kingdom,” he added.
