Letter to the Editor
By Lating Minggang
The question of whether councillors in Sarawak’s municipal councils deserve a higher remuneration has always been a complex one with various perspectives that need to be considered.
Local councillors, as the frontline representatives of the community, play a crucial role in local governance. The role of the councillors is to achieve the best outcomes for the community with a focus on the long-term quality of life and continued community growth. Their workload has increased over the years, particularly with the growing demands of urban development and community needs.
Councillors often shoulder significant responsibilities, as their tasks include attending meetings, inspecting projects, conducting site visits, and engaging with the public.
While their dedication to public service is commendable, their current remuneration, which primarily consists of meeting allowances, may not adequately compensate the councillors for their time, effort, and expenses, especially for those in rural areas who may incur travel costs.
Furthermore, higher remuneration could attract more qualified and dedicated individuals to serve as councillors, leading to improved decision-making and better representation of the community.
Several factors necessitate a re-evaluation of the current remuneration structure for local Councillors, which include, but are not limited to:
Expanded Role and Responsibilities
- Policy-making: Councillors are increasingly involved in policy-making decisions that impact the community.
- Community engagement: They are expected to actively engage with the public, addressing their concerns and seeking solutions to local problems.
- Project oversight: Councillors play a critical role in monitoring and evaluating public projects.
Time, commitment, and effort
- Meeting attendance: Regular attendance at council meetings, committee meetings, and site visits is essential.
- Public engagement: Engaging with the public often requires additional time and effort, especially during community events and consultations.
- Administrative tasks: Councillors may need to handle administrative tasks, such as responding to public inquiries.
Motivation and performance
- Fair compensation: Better remuneration can provide fair compensation for the time and effort invested.
- Increased motivation: Adequate remuneration can motivate councillors to perform their duties diligently, efficiently, and effectively.
- Professionalism: Better remuneration can enhance the professionalism of the role and attract talented individuals to serve as councillors.
Alignment with other public servants
- Comparable remuneration: A better remuneration would align the remuneration of Councillors with other public servants, such as community leaders, who also play important roles in local governance.
Even though the primary motivation for serving as a councillor should be a desire to contribute to the community, motivational factors like a better remuneration package to get a better output also need to be considered.
Furthermore, when the current councillors’ remuneration is being benchmarked with the community leaders’ remuneration, the former trailed the latter by a large margin.
Therefore, in light of the expanding role and responsibilities of the local councillors, it is worthwhile for the relevant authorities to re-look and re-study the current remuneration structure.
A better remuneration for the councillors would not only recognise their contributions but also incentivise them to deliver quality service to the community.
By investing in our local leaders, we can strengthen local governance and improve the overall quality of life for our citizens.
Lating Minggang is the Walikota for Kapit District Council.
This is the personal opinion of the author(s) and does not necessarily represent the views of DayakDaily. Letters to the Editor may be lightly edited for clarity.
— DayakDaily
