RM48,000 spent per month on five staff assigned to each Special Envoy's office, says PM

KUALA LUMPUR: More than RM48,000 is spent monthly to pay the wages of five staff members assigned to each of the three of the government's Special Envoys, the Dewan Rakyat was told Wednesday (Sept 22).

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) gave the figure in a Parliamentary reply dated Sept 21 in response to a question from Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir (PH-Johor Baru).

Akmal had asked about the overall cost including allowances, remunerations, office occupancy and staff for ministerial-level special envoys between 2020 and 2021.

Ismail Sabri said the offices of the Special Envoy to the Middle East, China, and East Asia (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan) were allocated five staff members each.

He added that this includes a Grade 54 Senior Private Secretary, a Grade 52 Special Officer, a Private Secretary between grade 41 and 44, an Office Secretary and drivers.

Ismail Sabri then said that the Grade 54 senior private secretary receives a basic monthly salary of RM13,251 and an allowance of RM2,000.

He added that the Grade 52 Special Officer receives a monthly salary of RM12,444 with an allowance of RM1,600 while the Private Secretary that starts at Grade 41 receives a basic salary of RM10,406 with an allowance of RM1,100.

Ismail Sabri then said that the Office Secretary receives a monthly salary of RM3,256 and an allowance of RM810, while the driver receives a basic salary of RM2,939 and an allowance of RM745.

He then said that this brings the cumulative figure to RM48,551, which translates to roughly RM1.7mil per year.

"All the offices of special envoys with a ministerial rank, which are the offices of the special envoy to the Middle East, China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan are located in the office space at the Perdana Putra Building in Putrajaya that does not involve any direct costs," said Ismail Sabri.

The special envoys are Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (Middle East), Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (China) and Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan).