Pay rise for MPs likely

MPs are likely to be given a “long overdue” pay rise which is expected to be announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak soon.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim hinted that there could be such a move.

“There will be a positive announcement soon by the Prime Minister. This has been long overdue,” Shahi­dan said when he was asked to confirm whether there would be such a pay rise.

However, Shahidan who is the minister in charge of parliamentary affairs, declined to divulge details of the proposed salary hike.

If the proposal comes into being, then it would be followed suit by the state assemblies, said Shahidan, who is also Arau MP.

In December last year, Shahidan had said a salary review of the 222 MPs was expected to take place this year, pointing out that Malaysian MPs were among the “lowest paid in the world”.

MPs’ salaries have been revised five times – in 1992, 1997, 2001, 2002 and 2005.

In the 2005 review, their basic pay was increased from RM5,916.90 (in 2002) to RM6,508.59 now, which is not inclusive of other benefits such as a RM1,200 driver’s allowance.

A similar proposal for a pay increase was withdrawn in October 2011 following objections from the Opposition that the time was not right for a revision which would have involved a RM30mil allocation.