KUCHING: Political analyst Datuk Peter Minos said the monthly allowance of councillors in Sarawak should be increased when funds are available.
He said this in reference to Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) information chief Datuk Idris Buang who urged the state government to review upward remunerations and allowances of local councillors to between RM1,500 to RM3,000 monthly.
Idris made the suggestion for increased monthly remuneration in response to Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin, who on August 4 described the Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) government’s effort to provide a fixed monthly allowance of RM300 to all local councillors as an apparent abuse of power.
“Datuk Idris talked sense. Councillors work hard and are a highly motivated group. They all want to do good for their respective areas,” Minos told New Sarawak Tribune yesterday.
He believed that this is why councillors in Penang and Selangor are getting allowance of between RM1,000 and RM2,500.
“It is good that Sarawak gives RM300 per month to local councillors to start with. This is appreciated,” he commended.
Minos questioned why Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) had to make a fuss of the RM300 allowance paid by the state government.
“Their criticism is nonsensical.
“Pakatan Harapan (PH) has a bad habit of ‘cari pasal’ (finding issues) and digging dirt but doing absolutely nothing for the people even though they are in charge of the federal government,” he said, adding that he viewed PH as irresponsible and not serious.
