Malaysia’s deficit too high, so cannot afford to increase civil servants’ salary

“The nation’s debt has reached almost RM1 trillion with a deficit of 5.6 per cent and if we increase salaries, the deficit will increase to 6.5 per cent.”

(Sun Daily) – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has asked for the civil servants’ patience on the matter of the surging cost of living.

NST reported Anwar saying that through the revised Budget 2023, his administration has tried its very best to allocate financial assistance for civil servants.

“They asked that the salary to be reviewed and raised. I agree with that, however, there was no stern approach toward the issue that we are facing previously.

“The nation’s debt has reached almost RM1 trillion with a deficit of 5.6 per cent and if we increase salaries, the deficit will increase to 6.5 per cent.

“This will cause no investment in the country as investors are not confident that Malaysia has a strong political will to better manage the country,“ he said to reporters after the ‘Islamophobia International Forum: A Meaningful Engagement Through Madani Discourse’ held today.

This is in response to the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) disappointment conveyed over the lack of suggested solutions to tackle the issue of the rising cost of living endured by the civil servants in the 2023 Budget.

Cuepacs president Datuk Adnan Mat mentioned that decreasing individual income tax would not greatly affect the people’s income, including civil servants.

He also said the government had not committed to re-examining the public service remuneration system for the civil servants’ income raise.