Allowance of Johor state reps increased to RM9,000

The last review was in 2009 and the new increase is not burdensome and can be financed by the state government, says menteri besar.

NUSAJAYA: The Johor State Assembly has approved the increase in monthly allowances for 56 state assemblymen from RM5,000 to RM9,000 effective last January 1.

Menteri Besar Mohamed Khaled said the last remuneration review was in 2009 and a proposal to increase the monthly allowance at a rate equivalent to Grade 54 was proposed by him when tabling the Johor Budget 2015, last November 13.

“The increase is not burdensome and can be financed by the state government.

Johor had a surplus of RM300 million last year and RM400 million in the previous year.

“So, it is only fair to utilise a small amount of the surplus to increase the remuneration for the assemblymen in the wake of rapid development in Johor,” he said at the Johor State Assembly sitting at Kota Iskandar, here today.

He said, comparatively, the increase was not much different from that of Negeri Sembilan’s RM8,954, Sabah’s RM7,950, and Perak’s RM8,000, in fact it was much lower if compared with RM15,000 in Sarawak and Selangor’s RM11,250.

According to Mohamed Khaled, among the justifications for the increase in allowance were the important roles and responsibilities played by state assemblymen in serving the people and country apart from their legislative duties in ensuring a better community and nation.

“Therefore, I believe the amount proposed is commensurate with their responsibilities and is not excessive,” he said.

– BERNAMA