DAP veteran lawmaker Lim Kit Siang has urged the Cabinet to freeze all increases in salaries and allowances in government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) until the economy recovers.
Lim, who is also Iskandar Puteri MP, also urged the Cabinet to issue a directive to this effect and present it to Parliament on July 18 for parliamentary sanction, adding that those who violate the directive should be sacked.
This came after reports that FGV Holdings Bhd – which is 80% owned by the Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) – agreed to increase its chairman’s annual allowance from RM300,000 to RM480,000 at its annual general meeting on Thursday (June 23).
The hike, which came into effect yesterday, will also see the six board directors’ allowances increased from RM120,000 to RM150,000.
In a statement today, Lim said that the increase was not only excessive in troubled economic times, but “downright obscene” and suggested that the move must be “smacked down” by the Cabinet and Parliament.
“The Cabinet and Parliament must send out a strong and unmistakable message that this is the time for belt-tightening and not for extravagance and waste,” he remarked.
“The chairman of FGV Holdings Bhd, Datuk Dzulkifli Abd Wahab and the six board members can help relieve the situation by declaring that they would not accept the indecent increase in the allowances.”
He further pointed out that FGV’s decision came only a day after Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s announcement that families who receive Bantuan Keluarga Malaysia (BKM) cash aid will receive an extra RM100, while BKM recipients who are single will receive an additional RM50.
Chicken and egg prices are also expected to go up next month after the abolishment of the ceiling prices from July 1. – June 24, 2022
