PETALING JAYA: The Prime Minister has agreed to postpone the move to cut the "critical service allowances" for new government employees, says Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
The Youth and Sports Minister said that he had discussed the matter with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who has agreed to bring up the matter for discussion at the next Cabinet meeting in January.
"We will never forget the voices of the youths!" he said in a Twitter post on Friday (Dec 27).
Syed Saddiq had previously opposed the move, saying that it would affect a lot of younger people.
The Muar MP said the Government should instead review the allowances given to ministers and politicians and vowed to cut back on his annual leave as well as promising to return the "holiday allowance" he received from the Government.
When contacted, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed Syed Saddiq's tweet.
In a Facebook post on Thursday (Dec 26), Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong labelled Syed Saddiq's criticism of the Government's decision to eliminate the allowance as "acting".
The MCA president also questioned if Syed Saddiq had brought up the issue during the Cabinet meeting for a collective decision.
In a Dec 20 circular, the Public Service Department (PSD) announced that the Government would no longer give Critical Service Incentive Allowance to 33 professions who will be joining the civil service next year.
These jobs include medical officers, pharmacists, dentists, nurses, engineers, air traffic controllers, architects, marine architects, legal officers, agricultural officers, vocational training officers, marine officers, research officers, among others.
In the circular, the PSD noted that current staff, permanent or temporary, would not be affected by the move.
Only new appointments on Jan 1 and onwards next year were affected.
It added that existing contractual staff would also continue receiving allowances as long as their contracts were renewed without any disruption in service in between.
Saya baru lepas berbincang dengan YAB @chedetofficial berkenaan isu “Allowance Critical”.
Alhamdulillah. YAB PM bersetuju untuk tangguhkan pekeliling baru & untuk membincangkan perkara ini dalam mesyuarat kabinet yang akan datang.
We will never forget the voices of the Youths! https://t.co/OIwYlCnjTU pic.twitter.com/cDDWS6wRDy
— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) December 27,2019
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