KUCHING, Nov 25: Sarawakians should be the “bosses” who are able to determine the salaries of Sarawak’s ministers and assemblymen.
To enable this, Sarawak People’s Aspiration Party (Aspirasi) vice chairman Alex Leong Shaow Tung said he would submit a referendum to the Sarawak State Legislative Assembly (DUN) to abolish the current salary and pension system if he were to be given the opportunity to enter DUN.
He said the new system should allow Sarawakians to be the judge of all ministers’ and assemblymen’s performances every year.
“If the people are not satisfied with their (ministers and assemblymen) job performances, the people can pass a referendum to reduce the salaries or even abolish assemblymen.
“Instead of wasting money or salaries on them, it is better to leverage this huge amount of money for the people and society,” he said in a statement today.
Leong, who is also potential candidate for Batu Lintang seat, said both ruling and opposition had in 2015 passed the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) (Amendment) Bill 2014 to raise the remuneration of elected representatives.
Members of the ruling and opposition parties “worked together” to pass the bill for the first time, he pointed out.
If the people are indeed “bosses” as described by the people’s representatives, Leong said Sarawakians must be given the right to decide.
“The people only becomes ‘boss of the day’ on polling day, but the people are actually the ‘labour’ of the elected representatives for five years after the general election,” said Leong, who is also Sarawak for Sarawakians (S4S) spokesperson. — DayakDaily
