Salary hikes for civil servants the best initiative to help people

SHAH ALAM - The salary raise announcement of up to 13 per cent for civil servants starting on December 1 is one of the best initiatives expected by Malaysians, especially for those coming from B40 in facing the challenging economic situation today.

Public and Private Pensioners' Association (Pejasma) president Datuk Azih Muda said that concurrently when the salary revision takes place, government retirees would also receive its impact based on constitutional provisions.

“Relatively, the changes to this remuneration system will have an effect on retirees or in terms of pensions themselves.

"So to retirees, don't say that there is no consideration given and so on because in (the provision), it is already there.

"When the government announces the salary revision, it will also include the existing pension system," he told Sinar.

Meanwhile, Azih said that the salary increase initiative can also help increase workers' efficiency, thus boosting investor confidence in the country's industrial sector.

"Hence, indirectly, tax revenue, the country's employability also increases, and most importantly, our economy will continue to grow.

"We hope that this good news will provide relief to groups like the B40, for example, because the Prime Minister mentioned that the new minimum income will be more than RM2,000 per month, plus allowances for living expenses, housing, and so on.

"I think it's about a minimum increase of around RM180 from the Prime Minister's announcement. So, this is a good hope for workers," he said.