BY SAIFUL IZHAM
The public servants in Malaysia are certainly facing a sharp increase in living cost under the Umno BN administration.
This can be seen clearly from the 2018 Budget proposal where there are too many recommendations presented including increase in salary and allowances as well as bonuses for government servants.
As of March 31, 2017, there are a total of 1.6 million public servants in Malaysia and 57% of them are teachers, militaries, police, doctors and nurses.
Due the volatile economic situation in the country, government servants had only managed to get an average bonus of RM500 since 2013.
The Umno BN government led by Najib Razak should have looked into several factors that are causing the significant income gap besides the increasing cost of living.
Citizens are also burdened with the goods and service tax (GST) as well abolition of government subsidies hampering those in the middle-income and burdening the poor.
Today's rising cost of living has had a significant impact as some full-time employees have had to increase their income by doing part-time work.
The BN Umno government has to control the price of goods and not allow its increase randomly as it only suppresses the people, especially the lower income group.
*Saiful Izham is Kedah KEADILAN Strategic Director, The Peoples’ Justice Party (KEADILAN).
