FEDERAL civil servants in the state seem to be treated unfairly with regards to housing allowance compared to their counterparts in the peninsula.
Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen yesterday mentioned that it was unfair for those who commute less than an hour between states such as Selangor and Negeri Sembilan to be given housing allowance whereas civil servants who were posted to different divisions in Sarawak were not entitled to any allowance.
“In West Malaysia, it just takes the civil servants between 20 and 30 minutes drive from Negeri Sembilan to Selangor whereas for Sarawakians, the federal civil servants don’t get housing allowance even though they have to drive about 800 kilometres from Miri to Kuching,” he said in a press conference at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) here yesterday.
Chong’s attempt to bring the matter up during the DUN sitting was dismissed by speaker Datuk Amar Mohd Asfia Awang Nassar on the ground that they should focus solely on the housing allowance of the Head of State as debated after the Second Reading of Civil List (Amendment) Bill 2012.
He said the speaker was taking a very technical position in dismissing his topic of discussion but respected the speaker’s decision as it was his prerogative.
“Nevertheless, it is my view that this is the house of the people that even any issue with little relevance should be allowed to be brought up during the sitting,” Chong added.
The Bandar Kuching MP claimed that many state federal civil servants were unhappy about the housing allowance.
At the DUN sitting earlier, Chong was one of the elected representatives who supported the Civil List (Amendment) Bill, 2012.