Khairy justifies fat salaries for gov't agency heads

Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin today justified high salaries for officers contracted to government agencies, saying they are needed to attract top talent.

In a series of tweets to DAP's Serdang MP Ong Kian Ming , Khairy said that it would be "shortsighted" to argue otherwise.

"You obviously disagree with bringing (in) top individuals with private sector experience to improve public service. How shortsighted...

"Realistically, we need to pay to get the best. Plus, many still take a pay cut (to join government agencies). As I said, shortsighted," he said on the microblogging site.

He said that some top private sector players took a pay cuts to join government and one example is former Maybank CEO Wahid Omar (left), now Minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

Khairy added that now TalentCorp CEO Johan Merican also did the same when he joined the Treasury Department as an officer.

However, Ong pointed out that Johan would have had a bump in salary after appointed TalentCorp head, compared to what he earned when he was special assistant to a minister.

The DAP MP yesterdayquestioned the formation of redundant government agencies and the fat pay checks that come with the agencies.

For example, he said, the Agency Inovasi Malaysia CEO who is paid almost three times higher than the salary of the highest paid civil servant - the chief secretary.

Citing a written reply in Parliament, he added that Land Transport Commission CEO is paid a whopping RM622,000 annually, including bonus and allowances.

Responding to Khairy on Twitter today, Ong said that the results of these agencies should show whether the salaries are justified or not.

'High pay does not equal high quality'

"(I) don't disagree with bringing them in, just pay them public sector pay. After all, it is national service, or so many claim," he said.

He added that high salaries for government agency officers are also part of a bigger debate about the outsourcing of government functions.

"'Quality equals pay' is also a simplistic argument. Look at the pay of Kenneth Lay of Enron before it went bust.

"(The) chairman of Syabas is well compensated, too, but it is not a representation of quality. Still needs government bailout," he said.

To this, Khairy conceded that there must be strict controls and monitoring to ensure heads of agencies are performing.

However, he still insisted that Ong (left) was taking an immature stance by questioning high salaries.

"Everything has to be benchmarked on performance. But to raise this without context is childish & really not befitting a PhD," he said, referring to Ong's academic qualifications.