Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has ticked off critics of the proposed pay hike for civil servants, including MPs who plan to thwart the move in Parliament.
“Yes, I know there are critics. There are MPs who say ‘Oh, who knows, in Parliament it won’t pass’. I want to see which face wants to oppose the increase in public service allowances and salaries.
“If there are people who dare to oppose this without a reasonable cause, we will defeat them in the election,” Bernama reported him as saying.
Anwar said this when officiating the celebration of International Firefighters’ Day 2024 at Jalan Tambun, Sunway City Ipoh, today.
Also present were Perak Menteri Besar Saarani Mohamad, Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming, and Fire and Rescue Department (FRD) director-general Nor Hisham Mohammad.
Defending the move, Anwar said the government is firm on raising civil servants’ salaries despite the country’s uncertain economic situation to show appreciation for the contributions of public sector workers including security forces and firefighters.
He added that civil servants, including the security forces and firefighters, are at the forefront of ensuring peace whenever the country faces disasters and untoward events.
“Why, in the current economic situation, does the government choose to raise the salaries of civil servants?
“Don’t forget, this country is safe; safe from fires, landslides, and even to rescue animals, this is because of their (security forces and firefighters) service and sacrifice,” he mentioned.
‘Erdogan can’t stop praising our firefighters’
Anwar further expressed his commitment to work on allocations for the said purpose to ensure the welfare of the national security forces.
Meanwhile, when expressing his appreciation to the firefighters, Anwar said their efficiency was praised by world leaders including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“I want to say that when I met Erdogan, he never stopped praising the efficiency of our fire brigade because we had helped during a disaster in the past, thank you and appreciate that,” he said.
In the meantime, Anwar called on the FRD to continue to excel and step up its preparedness to help maintain national security and the well-being of the people. - Mkini
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