KUCHING, Oct 30: Cuepacs Sarawak is calling on the Federal government to update the salary system for civil servants from the existing Malaysian Remuneration Scheme (SSM), which has been in place since 2002.
Its chairman Omar Bahrein Unin said the 19-year-old system should be reviewed and improved aside from shortening the full salary time base from 13 to 10 years, to ensure civil servants earn salaries that are higher than the poverty line.
This is one of the few requests from Cuepacs on behalf of Federal civil servants in Sarawak following the presentation of Budget 2022 by Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz yesterday (Oct 29).
Other than that, Omar said there were also many beneficial announcements for civil servants in the Budget.
The government had announced a Special Financial Assistance of RM700 to 1.3 million civil servants of Grade 56 and below, and RM350 to one million government retirees, with a total expected expenses up to RM1.3 billion.
“This will benefit civil servants and retirees in managing family expenses for daily living.
“The government also increased the number of leaves from a maximum of 150 to 160 days, allowing early redemption of up to 50 per cent for those who need to perform the Haji or to fund their children’s higher education,” he said in a statement today.
Aware that the country is in the process of an economic recovery during the Covid-19 pandemic, Omar views Budget 2022 as having an overall positive impact. — DayakDaily
