Voon questions Najib’s motive in announcing double annual salary hike
KUCHING: The recent announcement of additional annual salary increment for civil servants by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is seen as a move to garner their support for Barisan Nasional ( BN) during the 14th general election (GE14).
Though they welcomed Najib’s move they wondered why he announced it when the election was around the corner, Pakatan Harapan ( PH) Sarawak Women chief Voon Shiak Ni said.
She also pointed out that civil servants had yet to benefit from the usual one-month salary bonus since Najib took office in April 2009.
“I remember in the 90s during (former prime minister) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s time, civil servants did get the one-month salary bonus or at least halfmonth.
“In Najib’s tenure, his national budget did not have a record of the one-month bonus for civil servants and they were given RM500 as special assistance,” she said in a press statement yesterday.
Voon, who is national Parti Keadilan Rakyat ( PKR) Women vice- chief, quoted a news report in Oct 2010 in which Najib purportedly said that civil servants would not get bonus that particular year because it would cost the government about RM3.1 billion and would bust the national budget.
“I wish to point out that at the moment we also do not have the revenue to meet the additional increment involving RM1.46 billion as our national debt is coming to nearly a trillion,” she added.
Thus the additional increment pledged by Najib was ‘one of his election goodies and propaganda’.
“On a positive note, the additional increment is good for all our civil servants. We welcome these goodies for the people, as that is exactly what the government should do - to give back to the people. Money cannot be wasted on white elephant projects or leakages.”
She assured civil servants that they will still have their jobs if PH forms the next government.
“It is also in our PH manifesto, that BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Aid), the construction of Pan Borneo Highway, hospital upgrading projects, road projects and other developments will continue under the PH government,” she said.
Stressing that Malaysians ‘need a revamp of the present system’ in light of the ‘escalating national debts and leakages in the present system’, she reminded voters that only they can change the system by coming out to vote in the GE14.
On Wednesday, Najib announced the additional annual salary increment for 2018 effective July 1 for the 1.6 million civil servants, saying it was in appreciation of the service, sacrifice and hard work they put in.
“This means that civil servants will receive an additional salary increment on top of the annual salary movement for 2018,” he said.