‘PSD practising double standard’

PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar asks why there is discrimination between premium category officials and support staff in the new remuneration scheme under review.

KUALA LUMPUR: Although the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA) is currently under review, offer letters have already gone out to those on top of the pecking order.

Now, PAS vice-president Mahfuz Omar is asking why the Public Service Department (PSD) is practising such elitism.

He said today the PSD has no right to give out offer letters as the whole scheme is under review.

Mahfuz, the Pokok Sena MP, added that he understands some of the letters to the top category have already been implemented.

He said that he had information that officials under the premium category had already been given their offer letters, leaving civil servants in the support group behind.

He told reporters at the party headquarters that if the scheme was indeed under review, its implementation should be delayed at all levels.

“It should be delayed right from the premium level to the (lower level support staff) like the gardener.

“This because the remuneration gap between these premium category officials and the support staff is a huge one,” he said.

Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on Thursday announced the Cabinet had decided that a review of the scheme was needed following discussions with Cuepacs.

This came after criticism over the scheme including opposition to the idea of having chief executive officers (CEO) from the private sector appointed as secretaries-general in the civil service to give the government a corporate look.

Under this new scheme, secretaries-general would get a whopping RM10,000 salary increase. They now earn between RM18,000 and RM24,000 (including allowances) depending on their grade and seniority.

Salary discrepancy
The proposed income for the CEOs is between RM25,000 and RM35,000 a month, which is similar to what government-linked companies pay their top executives.

Mahfuz said that there should be no discrimination between the premium category workers who stand to gain more from the scheme and the support group.

He added that an independent body needed to be established to re-look at the premium group’s salary scheme.

“I think the lowest category of the support staff only gains a salary increase of RM8. They have to be fair… there does not seem to be a sincere review (of the salary discrepancy between the groups),” he said.

He also said he wants the government to provide details if the offer letters have been made to these premium class officials and if the Yang di-Pertuan Agong has given consent to the new remuneration system.

Meanwhile, in response to Mahfuz’s allegations, Chief Secretary to the Government Mohd Sidek Hassan told FMT that the offer letters have already been made to all civil servants despite their categories.

“They were all given till Dec 31 to respond. The deadline was then extended to Jan 15. Those who have opted for the option have responded while those who have not opted have yet to respond,” he said.

He stressed that the offer letters were not just given to the premium category officials.