Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob has defended the bonus payout given to the state water provider Air Kelantan Sdn Bhd’s (AKSB) board and staff.
He said every government-linked company (GLC) has a right to reward its board members.
"Any GLC can give any form of award to its board members. Perhaps that's what AKSB did," he told reporters today after attending a function in Kota Bharu.
He was commenting on AKSB's payment of RM10,000 bonus to each of its nine board members, RM200 to every staff, and RM2,000 to the company secretary, in conjunction with Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
The move courted backlash, especially given Kelantan's long-standing clean water supply issues.
When asked about allegations that AKSB had unpaid electricity bills amounting to RM35 million, Ahmad appeared to be in the dark.
"On this, I must check with the general manager and the board of directors," he said.
‘It’s to ease burden’
Earlier, AKSB justified the payout, saying it was meant to "ease their burden" for the festive season.
According to the state water supplier, such financial giveaways are a "norm" in any company.
"The practice of giving bonuses to the board members and staff is normal to ease their financial burden ahead of the Aidilfitri celebrations.
"The bonus payout was done according to good governance and procedures approved by the board of directors," AKSB said in a statement.
The statement was shared by the Kelantan state government's Information and Communication Secretariat today.
Yesterday, it was reported that AKSB had lodged a police report against the leak of the letter, arguing it was classified under the Official Secrets Act (OSA) 1972. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.