Civil servants pay rise may not be enough to offset rising cost of living, says academician

KUCHING (Aug 18): The salary increase announced by the Prime Minister might not be enough for civil servants to cope with the current rising cost of living and economic hardship, said academician Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow.

The Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia’s Faculty of Syariah and Law associate professor believed that while many appreciated the pay rise, the recent fuel subsidy rationalisation programme had also resulted in a spate of hikes in the prices of many goods and services in the country.

In this regard, he called for more measures from the government to ensure that the civil servants would be able to sustain and support their livelihoods.

“A salary increase also means the increase in the income tax amount to be paid later.

“As such, the workers may have no other options other than doing extra jobs to get that extra income to support themselves and their families.

“Besides increasing the salary, the government should also adjust and increase the allowances allocated to the civil servants. The existing allowance structure is outdated and cannot meet the rising cost of living,” he said in a statement yesterday.

On Friday, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced that federal civil servants across all grades would have their salaries increased under the new pay structure that would be phased in starting this December.

He said this when addressing the civil servants at the 19th edition of ‘Majlis Amanat Perdana Perkhidmatan Awam’ (MPPA XIX) 2024, in Putrajaya.

Adding on, Muzaffar Syah also called upon the government to take serious action against individuals capitalising on the salary increase, especially those committing profiteering activities.

In this regard, he said the Price Control and Anti-Profiteering Act 2011 and Price Control and Anti-Profiteering (Mechanism to Determine Unreasonably High Profit for Goods) Regulations 2018 must be strictly enforced.

In addition, he said all elected representatives should actively engage with their constituents in addressing their needs and problems.

“They *the elected reps) must look into the requests and complaints brought up to them.

“All politicians need to set aside their political differences and work together for the sake of the country and the people.

“They need to give their full focus on improving the nation’s economy as many people are still struggling to support their daily life.”

Muzaffar Syah also said the political leaders must figure out effective measures to strengthen the country’s economy, and improve the livelihood of the people in general.

“Our politicians and elected leaders must go to the ground, investigate the various complaints, and take steps to solve all the arising problems faced by the people,” he added.