SHAH ALAM, 1 Oct: The State Government Executive Council (Exco) will review the previous allowance hike which sparked controversy.
The Chief Minister, Mohamed Azmin Ali, said that the review will involve his position, Exco members, the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of the Selangor State Assembly (DNS).
“We decided to review the allowance increase which was decided on November 22, 2013.
“The proposal will be brought up in the DNS session this November,” Azmin said this during a press conference after chairing the Exco meeting today.
When asked by reporters whether the review will be carried out to increase or reduce the allowance for the positions involved, Azmin briefly answered that it was related to cutting allowances.
Previously, the former Chief Minister, Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, proposed a salary increase for all Pakatan Rakyat (PR) and Barisan Nasional (BN) Assemblymen.
Abdul Khalid said that the hike was in reference to the basic salary and allowance of each Council member.
However, it received criticism from various parties as the proposal increased the allowances for some positions to go up by almost 300 percent.
On September 26, the PKR de facto leader, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said that PKR wants the Chief Minister, Mohamed Azmin Ali, to reduce the allowance of the Chief Minister and Exco members to a reasonable rate.
Anwar was of the opinion that although there is justification, it should not be done abruptly.
For the record, the Chief Minister’s salary was increased from RM14,175.15 to RM29,250; State Executive Council Members from RM6,109.29 to RM20,250; the State Assembly (DNS) Speaker from RM6,109.29 to RM22,500; DND Deputy Speaker from RM3,327.50 to RM15,750 and Assemblymen from RM6,000 to RM11,250.
NS
