Guess who’s getting a bigger paycheck next year?

Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, Malaysia’s Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (man, what a mouthful) has hinted today that Malaysian Members of Parliament (MPs) are slated to get a pay rise.

The wage hike, which is “long overdue” according to Datuk Seri Shahidan, will be announced by Malaysian Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Najib Tun Razak soon.

When was the last time Malaysian MPs got a pay rise?

The last time Malaysian MPs got a pay rise was nine years ago in 2005, which was about RM590 (their basic pay now is about RM6,500). This, however, is not inclusive of other perks such as the RM1,200 monthly allowance for drivers.

What else? How much would the MP wage increase by?

Datuk Seri Shahidan declined to divulge further details, presumably to ensure that Dato’ Sri Najib will get to break the good news. Theoretically, the wage increase will translate into MPs having more money in their coffers to hire more personnel. These personnel in return can help provide better services to the rakyat. In reality though it remains to be seen if we can expect anything of that sort from them.

Will my wages increase as well?

Well, you might want to double-check with your HR Department if your job title is actually “MP” (of Malaysia), then ask your boss how much budget he’s willing to allocate to reflect your wonderful job performance.

Commentary

While the current wage structure for Malaysian MPs do look abnormally small compared to some Malaysian state assemblies (Sarawak state assemblymen earn a cool RM15k per month), maybe this wonderful pay raise should be implemented only after the rakyat have stopped complaining about the rising cost of living thanks to the fuel hike last week.