BANGI, July 13 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today defended his decision to raise civil servant salaries by 15 per cent.
He called the hike, the highest ever increase in history, as justified as civil servants have waited more than a decade for it.
“This scheme is criticised by both parties. Some economists said, ‘Anwar is impractical, he wants to be popular, the government doesn’t have the money, but he wants to raise it and with a large amount too.’
“Another party said it could not happen. I want to make sure that as soon as I announce it, all the gaps can be filled.
“We can increase the salary to the average, for example 5 per cent. That’s also an increase, but 12 years the civil servants have waited,” he said in his speech during the National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) Golden Jubilee Celebration at the Tenera Hotel here.
In conjunction with the Labour Day celebrations on May 1 this year, Anwar announced the government’s plan to raise the salaries of civil servants “to record level” next year, a move that is expected to cost taxpayers RM10 billion more on top of existing spending for emolument.
He described the increments as “long overdue” to pre-empt criticism. The Malaysian government has long been criticised for its bloated civil service, which makes up more than a third of federal budgets.
