PM: GLC BOSSES’ PAY TOO HIGH
Some take home up to RM7m annually, says Dr Mahathir
WILL the government consider slashing the salaries of heads of government-linked companies (GLCs)? Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said he was shocked by the salaries some of these GLC chiefs were taking home.
He related how some of them had annual incomes of up to RM7 million.
Saying he could not understand how so much money was being paid for their salaries, Dr Mahathir related how he used to earn only RM20,000 per month when he was prime minister previously.
However, he said the amount was more than enough for him as all other expenses were paid by the government.
“I did not even touch my salary back then as everything was paid for.”
On matters concerning reducing graft among public officials, Dr Mahathir said he was aware that the government paid salary at the lower scale and joked that he would consider slashing the salary of those in the private sector, too.
His response sparked nervous laughter from the media working in the private sector, who responded with a loud “no”.
Meanwhile, Dr Mahathir said the government was looking into the possibility of keeping the declaration of assets of elected representatives classified to prevent unjustified attention and scrutiny by the masses.
He said they were mulling as to how much of this sensitive information could be revealed to the public.
“We are considering how much we can reveal to the public because it will affect the privacy of a lot of the family members,” he said.
To a question, Dr Mahathir said to his knowledge, none of the elected representatives had to date, declared their assets.
On whether there was a grace period for elected representatives to declare their assets, Dr Mahathir said the government would “determine the time for the assets to be declared”. Additional reporting by Irwan Shafrizan Ismail and Fairul Asmaini Mohd Pilus