Sabah raises allowances of 4,000 community leaders

 

Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor said he values the important role played by community leaders who served with integrity and acted as ‘judges’ to maintain peace and harmony. (Bernama pic)

KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah government has announced an increase in monthly allowance for 3,963 community leaders in the state starting next month.

Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor said the increase would benefit 57 district chiefs, 272 native chiefs, 648 native representatives, 2,810 village chiefs and others.

Hajiji said the increased allowance for district chiefs will be RM3,500 (29.6% increase) as compared with the RM2,700 received earlier, that for native chiefs will be increased from RM1,700 to RM2,500 (47.1% increase), native representatives from RM900 to RM1,300 (44.4% increase), and village chiefs and heads from RM700 to RM1,200 (71.4% increase).

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He added that the allowances of community leaders had not been reviewed since 2013 although the cost of living has increased drastically over the years.

“The state government values and recognises the important role of leaders who serve the community with integrity and act as ‘judges’ to maintain peace and harmony.

“They also incur expenses in travelling for meetings, courses or official functions outside their own districts.

“The increase in allowances reflects the state government’s commitment towards the wellbeing of the people in Sabah, especially community leaders. This will also serve as a motivation for the community leaders to serve their folks better,” he said in a statement today. - FMT