Review civil servant salaries when country coffers improve - PM

 

The salaries and wages of civil servants will be discussed again when the country’s coffers improve and the nation’s fiscal deficit can be reduced, said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

He said although he was personally not satisfied with the salary and wages of public servants compared to their duties and commitments, the rate of increment needed to be assessed based on the country’s finances.

“If our coffers improve, the deficit reduced, then we can (increase salary and wages), and now when I look at civil servants doing good work in the states, and the revenue increases, the process (of raising salary and wages) can be expedited.

“Just that for today I think it’s difficult, we will discuss it first,” he told a media conference after delivering the mandate to state and federal civil servants at the Sabah International Convention Centre in Kota Kinabalu today.

Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Sabah, Sarawak Affairs, and Special Functions) Armizan Mohd Ali.

Meanwhile, speaking at the ceremony to deliver the mandate, Anwar said the country faces a fiscal deficit of 5.6 percent and a debt of about RM1.5 trillion, which needed to be given priority to ensure the country’s prosperity, especially from an economic point of view.

“These few months, when our return of two billion, three billion, eight billion (ringgit) entered the country’s coffers, not even one sen leaked, if it leaks you all know the things I will do.

“If the country’s coffers are sufficient, civil servants can trust me that I will give priority to your fate… because your service and dedication deserve better salaries and wages,” he said.

As such, he called on all civil servants to practice integrity and good governance to ensure the country can be managed perfectly, in addition to reviving the country’s finances immediately.

“All of you do your work well because there is so much more that we have not resolved, for example, the issue of poverty, the Pan Borneo Highway... we will solve it for our people immediately,” he said.

Returning Labuan to Sabah

Asked about the call to return Labuan to Sabah at the press conference, Anwar said what’s important now is for the federal government to work with the Sabah government to revive the territory as a strong financial centre.

“It is not an issue (returning Labuan back to Sabah). The main issue is we see some sluggish development in Labuan, so we must take measures to try and revive Labuan,” he said.

Asked about the proposal to build a bridge between Sabah and Labuan, Anwar said it must be looked at from an economic point of view and, for now, the federal government’s stand is “to spend on what we are able to”.

On Jan 26, Labuan MP Suhaili Abd Rahman claimed the federal government was not serious about developing Labuan and the call for the territory to be returned to Sabah was not out of place considering the island’s economy had weakened greatly since becoming a federal territory about 38 years ago.

- Bernama