Allocate more money for constituencies, not the YBs
Posted on October 15, 2011, Saturday
Paul Sir
DE FACTO Law Minister Datuk Nazri Abdul Aziz thought everyone wanted it.
So he recommended to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to include it in Budget 2012. The PM did.
However, Nazri later found out that certain opposition MPs did not agree with the hike in salary and allowances for parliamentarians, so he decided to withdraw the proposal. So the pay rise was scrapped.
As the minister announced his decision, he couldn’t help but take a dig at the opposing voices.
“Anwar, Azmin, Lim Guan Eng are wealthy men, but they are not taking into consideration their junior MPs who are struggling to pour petrol to visit their areas,” he said.
“I hope one day there will be time to increase the MPs’ salary and allowance because it’s desired by all MPs to better serve their constituents.”
Nazri also said that the opposition leaders who opposed the increments were bigwigs and, therefore, their opposition carried weight.
“Why should MPs who are serving the people pay rent out of their own pockets? I have been an MP for the past 16 years; I am a minister, I know what I am talking about,” he added.
Allow me to take a closer look at the minister’s remarks.
I suppose Nazri is somewhat correct to say that the few top leaders of Pakatan Rakyat are established politicians and hence, financially stable.
I would even venture to say that they probably do not depend on their salaries and allowances to finance their political career.
I have a businessman friend who was a former MP. His MP allowance (RM4,000 then) was used to pay his personal political secretary. He told me he never saw his allowance throughout his one term as a parliamentarian. What is RM4,000 to a successful businessman, anyway?
However, career politicians depend largely on their salaries and allowances to carry out their work as well as for personal survival. This is particularly true for the opposition lawmakers.
While government lawmakers are generally well taken care of, there are also the backbenchers who could do with the extra allowances to fulfil their duties and responsibilities to their constituents. Those elected in rural areas are particularly hard-pressed as travelling expenses to remote locations alone are already a burden.
For those appointed ministers or to national corporations or statutory bodies, they are able to cope well. But such posts are limited and only the lucky ones or those closest to the corridors of power are rewarded with such appointments. The rest are no better off than those in the opposition.
So it would not be surprising to hear stories of parliamentarians or state legislators getting into financial distress or becoming political ‘frogs’ as a result.
Nazri has interestingly asked “Why should MPs who are serving the people pay rent out of their own pockets?”
To that, perhaps we can respond, “Hey, nobody asked you to be a politician. Nobody forced you to stand as a candidate for elective office. It was you who fought so hard to be a candidate in the first place and later went around promising the people that you were in politics to serve them? Serving the people means making sacrifices, lots of them and that includes paying rent from your own pockets.”
At times, I honestly want to tell aspiring politicians that if they cannot afford to make financial sacrifices, then don’t seek elective office. There is no joy being a YB if you cannot afford it. You must be financially stable to be a good, effective lawmaker – that’s the reality!
Surely, a politician must be able to appreciate that it’s really tough to serve other people when he cannot even look after himself or his family.
It’s a grave mistake to simply equate the honorific ‘YB’ with public status and adulation alone. If those in politics realise that being a YB means being a ‘servant’ literally, then perhaps we would hear less of people fighting, like hungry carnivores at times, to be candidates and smearing party colleagues or allies in the process.
Then again, I know it would not be fair to say that the poor should not offer themselves for public office because there are also those who genuinely want to serve their state and country even when they do not have the financial means to do so.
It would be ideal for the rich to enter politics, but when you are rich, getting into politics would probably be the last thing on your mind. That’s the irony of it all!
In recent days, the behaviour of some lawmakers has also made the public wonder whether they deserve a salary increment.
In the current sitting of parliament, a photo of MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali having a siesta and snoring away prompted a reader to ask, “Why should we increase the salary of MPs for sleeping on the job?” Aha, I recall a former PM who was also accused of dozing off while on the job.
I agree with the opposing voices of Pakatan MPs that it was inappropriate to get a salary increase with taxpayers’ money when the people are struggling to cope with the rising cost of living and stagnant income.
I’m not concerned with accusations against them for being hypocritical in opposing the salary hike. I’m also not bothered whether it was just a gimmick to fish for votes in the coming elections.
Politicians will always badmouth each other with all sorts of allegations or accusations but as far as this issue is concerned, those MPs who oppose the pay hike for lawmakers have my support.
However, I feel that the government should steadily increase the allocations for constituencies from time to time rather than for the YBs.
The focus should be on channelling the allocation to all areas fairly and justly, no matter what the political differences.
This fair distribution of allocation is important because ultimately, the people will benefit from it. This unfairness has been there all this while, and the people have borne the brunt of it.
Hence, both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat should ensure that this is carried out in the respective states they are in control of. At national level, the BN must affect the same for opposition seats.
I’m glad that the DAP-led Penang government has also given similar allocations of funds for constituencies held by the BN-opposition state representatives. This should be emulated by other state governments.
As for MPs who are unhappy that the hike in their salaries and allowances has been scrapped, this is my message for you.
“You asked for it when you fought all the way to be a YB. Didn’t you know that it would be five years of pain? Now, you have to make it all worth it – the financial sacrifices included.
“Above all, remember this. You are the only public servant who gets a pension for life for only serving five years. Other public servants have to work their whole life for a pension. Now, who’s complaining?”
Comments can reach the writer via columnists@theborneopost.com.
