All Pakatan states should follow pay cut – Anwar
KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim yesterday proposed that all Pakatan Harapan (PH) states follow the federal government’s lead in implementing a 10 per cent cut in pay for Cabinet members.
He said the May 9 GE14 election results should encourage the embracing of a new culture, one that is devoid of overspending and unnecessary protocol.
“I welcome several initiatives taken by the federal government in cutting the pay of Cabinet ministers by 10 per cent and stopping the practice of giving gifts upon appointment.
“I urge all PH state governments to consider and implement a similar move,” the PH de facto leader said in a statement on his Facebook page.
“The trust bestowed by the people must be welcomed with full consciousness, to practise a mature democracy where the people and media are free to continue monitoring.”
PH currently governs Penang, Kedah, Perak, Selangor, Melaka, Negri Sembilan and Johor, while Sabah is led by PH ally, Parti Warisan Sabah.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s first official policy was to reduce Cabinet members’ pay by 10 per cent, replicating a similar step he took in 1981.
The pay cut appeared designed to reinforce his previous revelation that Malaysia was over RM1 trillion in debt due to the excesses and abuses of the defeated Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.
He also invited senior civil servants to join in the austerity move, but said he would leave this to the discretion of the individual ministries.