PRESS STATEMENT – 26TH MARCH, 2020 – PARTI SOSIALIS MALAYSIA
Isn’t it about time Malaysian Ministers, Deputy Ministers, MP’s and senior government servants consider to take a pay cut to fund Covid 19 treatment and relief efforts? With the extension of the Movement Control Order MCO for another two weeks till 14th April, 2020, it is without doubt that more resources are needed either for the Health Ministry or to the rakyat to extend food aid and other necessities.
If all the 70 Ministers and Deputies (approximate monthly salary inclusive of MP allowance is about RM30,000) take a 10% cut that would accumulate RM 210,000 per month. If we add on the other MP’s (approximately RM 20,000.month x 152 MP’s ), where 10% of that would work out to an additional RM 304,000/month. In addition to the Ministers and MP’s we would also recommend the top Civil servants and top GLC Executives follow suit. We estimate on an average salary of RM15,000 per month x 5000 top administrators throughout the country with the GLC top management, the total emoluments to be RM 75 million. So 10% of that will generate 7.5 million a month!.
Putting all those figures together, the government through this fairly straight forward exercise can already mobilize RM 8.014 million per month!
This RM 8.014 million could easily pay over 6,600 people a minimum wage of RM 1,200 a month!
PSM urges that during these difficult times the nation is facing, the political and administrative elite cannot remain oblivious and should immediately take a 10% cut in their salaries. Unlike the workers that are being laid off or forced to go on unpaid leave, the petty traders completely losing their income, the poor and needy left in a lurch due do the MCO, a 10% salary cut will not make the elite and their families go hungry.
Instead of forcing the rakyat to dig into their old age saving from EPF accounts, its only morally right for the PM in his next public address to announce that he and his government top staff will take a 10 % salary cut at least for the next 6 months .
A.Sivarajan,
PSM Secretary General
-26th March, 2020.