Selangor may cut pay of MB, exco, speaker and deputy

SHAH ALAM: As one of his first moves as the chief executive of Selangor, Mentri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali intends to cut the allowances for the top state posts, including his own.
Azmin said today the state government will propose at the state assembly meeting next month to cut the allowances of the mentri besar, state executive councillors, the speaker and deputy speaker.
Speaking after chairing his first exco meeting today, Azmin said the state government proposes to review and ensure that the allowances are reasonable, based on the responsibilities and roles of the respective positions.
"The allowances for these posts were raised in November 2013, but we feel it must be reviewed again to suit the responsibilities of the respective roles. We feel there is a need for it now and will submit (the proposal) to the State Legislative Assembly," he said.
"We feel the allowances for the rest are sufficient and suitable for their respective responsibilities," he said, adding that the review will not involve the allowances of assemblymen.
The pay hike approved during the tenure of former mentri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim in November last year had seen the monthly salaries raised from:
- RM14,175.15 to RM29,250 for the MB;
- RM6,109.29 to RM20,250 for state exco members;
- RM6,109.29 to RM22,500 for the speaker;
- RM3,327.50 to RM15,750 for the deputy speaker; and
- RM6,000 to RM11,250 for the 56 assemblymen.
Azmin, who was Selangor Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairman then, had strongly objected to the pay hike, saying that it was "too high" and that the BBC had not been consulted before it was announced.
Meanwhile, Azmin, who also announced the portfolios for the respective state exco members today, said the state exco had also decided to review all agreements made by the previous administration.
"For now, our priority is the water restructuring plan in the state. We have to first see the agreement which was signed as we were not privy to the agreement details before this," he said.
"We have also decided to review the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) agreement," he added.
Azmin also clarified that PKR party boss Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was never sacked as Selangor state economic adviser but only had his office shut down.
"We have scrutinised the minutes of the meeting. Tan Sri Khalid's announcement on Sept 22 was to close the office of economic adviser with immediate effect.
So the question of sacking him (Anwar) does not arise here," he said.
Indicating the post still exists, Azmin said Khalid had only closed the office of the state economic adviser.
"After this we will relook the functions and roles of the economic adviser and we will provide the necessary facilities for the position," said Azmin, who only nodded when pressed if Anwar is still the state economic adviser.