“Slash MP’s RM1.5k fixed petrol allowance or introduce pay & claim so pain is equally distributed”

 

SUCH is the proposal of self-proclaimed satirist tokcin (@tokcin70) as the social media is abuzz with calls for the Madani administration to temporarily slash the fuel allowances of government MPs, ministers and their deputies as well senior civil servants and that of chairman/board members of government-linked companies (GLCs)/agencies.

The calls have their origin in the appeal of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to Malaysians to understand the record high non-subsidised petrol/diesel price spike amid the US-Israel war on Iran which has morphed into a global economic crisis.

This came about as PMX recently unveiled the temporary reduction of RON95 petrol quota to 200 litres/month from 300 litres effective April 1.

Controversial Opposition activist Badrul Hisham Shaharin a.k.a. Chegubard fired the first salvo over the weekend by mooting “a cut in salaries” of the afore-mentioned individuals while their petrol allowance to be scrapped with the “savings to be returned to the rakyat in the form of subsidies for necessities”.

This is when tokcin echoed Chegubard’s sentiment by claiming that the RM1,500 allowance is an exorbitant sum given that “the rakyat who fill up their tank using their own money to commute to work daily never even touches that amount”.

“On the other hand, MPs enjoy a fixed allowance regardless of whether they travel or fill up their tank,” he jibed in his post on X.

“If indeed that’s the true cost they incur in the course of their duty, then make an auditable claim, not a flat allowance as if that is their automatic right.”

Delving further, the apolitical critic further challenged MPs to reveal their monthly fuel consumption record to justify the RM1,500 rate.

The MP’s fuel allowance alone is RM1,500 while the nation’s minimum wage is RM1,700, hence the difference is only RM200.

This means that almost the wage of one Malaysian goes to pay the petrol cost of an elected representative.

The rakyat work a full month yet the MPs get almost the same amount as an allowance. This is no longer a question of the cost of the job. This is a question of the reality gap.

He further questioned fairness of the system “when there has there never been a pressure for an open audit”.

“Or as we all know, there’s silence on the issue because everyone enjoys it,” he chided.

Well, many commenters concurred with tokcin that “it’s only appropriate for MPs to claim their expenses based on actual expenses, ie claims accompanied by receipts/invoices within the limit of their entitlements”.

As aptly pointed out by another commenter, such has been “a private sector practice whereby one has to submit receipts to get reimbursement”.

“Even then, there are (still) cuts here and there,” lamented the netizen which led the poster to wonder why there has to be “double standards” all these while. 

- focus malaysia