SUNGAI PETANI, Jan 21 — The current wage levels of civil servants are considered inadequate to cover living expenses, given the increasingly apparent rise in the cost of living, says Congress of Union of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Datuk Adnan Mat.

Therefore, he said measures to increase the salaries of public servants should be implemented immediately without having to wait for the full implementation of the new Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA).

"Although the government, through the Public Service Department (JPA), stated that the (new SSPA) system may be ready by the end of this year, for Cuepacs, we hope the salaries of civil servants are increased earlier,” he told reporters after attending the 2024 Kedah State Civil Servants Gathering at Dewan Kenangan Sultan Abdul Hamid, Sungai Petani Municipal Council complex here, today.

He said Cuepacs was proposing an increase of about RM300, which could be readjusted once the new SSPA was ready to be implemented.

"Maybe not be in the form of salary, but a special allowance could be given for the time being,” he said, adding that the government had so far taken all of Cuepacs proposals seriously. — Bernama