By Emmanuel Samarathisa
EXTRAORDINARY times call for extraordinary measures. Like working from home. Having to brave through the panic buying. And being patient through the policy flip-flops during a national emergency.
Sure, this is extraordinary and the Health Ministry has been a beacon through an unsettling time. But that can’t be said of the others.
Some were busy politicking like sacking the Mara chairman and council members yesterday (March 18) because they were supposedly “political appointees.”
The Women and Family Development Ministry suspended the Talian Kasih hotline, which is dedicated to helping women and children who were victims of physical abuse. After intense blowback on social media, the ministry reactivated it.
The Economic Action Council (EAC) didn’t act much the last time they met except to state their commitment to the previous government’s stimulus package announced on Feb 27.
At the time of writing, we have yet to hear of something grand. The silence is deafening since there are already calls from economists and analysts to run another stimulus package.
The EAC certainly has plenty of ideas to mull and implement. But Malaysians will probably have to wait for Monday because that’s when they will meet to announce their latest plans.
And then there were loads of mistakes being made after the announcement of the Movement Control Order (MCO) that led to panic buying, confusion and overcrowding in certain areas.
Anyway, the reality is that there will be a need for those in the frontlines to be supported. And we are looking at the entire spectrum, from equipment to deal with capacity to allowances, particularly those who work odd jobs, the gig economy and those in the low end of the salary chain.
To do that, the government needs money. Now being a force in itself, the government has ample room to creatively raise money. Some require planning, others require lawmaking especially when raising funds for operational expenses.
But there is a low-hanging fruit – Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his ministers and their deputies can easily take a pay cut. A Cabinet decision is all you need.
Let’s look at how much we can inject into the system if Muhyiddin and his army of 70 ministers took a month’s pay cut, meaning no pay for an entire month. I’m going to use the salary scale for ministers taken from The Rakyat Post’s December article.
Prime minister: RM22,826.85
Deputy prime minister: RM18,170.20
Minister: RM14,907.20
Deputy minister: RM8,847.65
Now, let’s assume that Muhyiddin’s four senior or coordinating ministers are drawing the salary of a deputy prime minister. So it will be a prime minister, four “deputy prime ministers” aka senior ministers, 27 ministers, and 38 deputy ministers.
Their collective salaries a month will be: RM834,212.75.
But this doesn’t include the allowances that each minister gets. The list is supposedly “confidential” but former domestic trade and consumer affairs minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail revealed some estimates last year in the name of transparency.
And the list of what a minister can claim is as follows:
Entertainment allowance: RM12,000
Cabinet minister’s allowance: RM4,000
Housing allowance: RM4,000 (not claimable if residing in an official residence)
Domestic helper allowance: RM2,500
Driver allowance: RM2,500
Note: Both salaries and allowances were cut 10% as part of Pakatan Harapan’s pledge to be a financially leaner government.
So let’s leave aside domestic helper and driver allowance since we want to keep people employed.
And let’s leave out deputy ministers since that list is not public and the quantum would definitely be different.
Ex-domestic helper and driver, Muhyiddin’s Cabinet receives RM640,000 a month.
(Note: Cabinet refers to full ministers only.)
So, altogether, his government spends more than RM1.47 mil a month. That alone is enough to top up his fantastic Tabung Covid-19 initiative which started with only a paltry RM1 mil contribution from the government. Meaning, more than RM2 mil in his Covid-19 fund.
And, deputies’ allowances included, you can easily put RM200-RM300 a month or maybe more in a FoodPanda rider’s hands, assuming they still command a 12,000-strong fleet. Workers plying the gig economy route are doing us a huge service and risking their health while we heed Muhyiddin’s advice to “stay at home.”
Is there precedence, you ask? Why, yes. Just look across the causeway. Recently, all ministers and other political office holders committed to a one-month pay cut to show “solidarity” with Singaporeans amid the Covid-19 crisis.
On Feb 28, Deputy Prime Minister Heng Swee Keat, speaking during his Budget wrap-up speech, said that even President Halimah Yacob had volunteered to take a one-month pay cut.
And, Singapore being Singapore, all its MPs have their allowance cut by one month as well, while some senior public service officers will take a half-month pay cut.
These senior officers include permanent secretaries, deputy secretaries and chief executives of statutory boards.
Of course, over here, the moment it touches the MP abbreviation, things will get sticky because you’d probably need to table a bill and get the approval of all MPs – such a move will never get the approval of the Dewan Rakyat, even though that will put more cash into the hands of the people who need it.
Healthcare services already have some incentives through the Feb 27 stimulus package. But even that RM400 critical allowance for medical doctors and other medical personnel is not enough.
And what about the police who are conducting roadblocks, like in Penang, ensuring the government’s MCO is properly executed?
Certainly many are at risk to keep us safe. The current stimulus package has to be reviewed. And the government needs cash. So, start collecting from the nearest and easiest source – ministers and their deputies.
But how are they going to live or eat or sleep, you ask? Some have official residences and perks not included in the items above. But, even if you are very conservative, most of them are MPs.
So they’ll still have their MP allowance to tide them over. That’s why if one month’s pay is not enough, they can further sacrifice for another month, or can even live to subject themselves through a “tiered” cut where deductions are made based on the severity after the first month is over.
Also, politicians are not poor, you know? – March 19, 2020
