MPs want higher allowances, so bill withdrawn
The Members of Parliament (Remuneration ) (Amendment) Bill 2014, which was to have been tabled for second reading today, was withdrawn after MPs from both sides of the divide said they wanted a higher increase in their monthly allowances than what was proposed.
The bill was tabled for first reading yesterday by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim to increase monthly allowances of MPs to RM11,000 from RM6,580.59.
When the bill was read for a second time today, MPs from both sides asked for the bill to be withdrawn as they wanted higher allowances than the proposed amount.
Speaker Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia then called a 15-minute recess to decide on the next course of action, as he said this would result in a government bill being rejected, adding that this would have other consequences.
When the house resumed after recess, Shahidan said that he was withdrawing the bill, which would be tabled at the next Parliament sitting in March next year.
In the bill, the Dewan Rakyat's speaker's salary is to be increased to RM20,000 from RM14,907.20 while the deputy speaker’s salary would be raised to RM16,000 from RM10,847.65.
The increment was to take effect from January 1, 2015 if the bill had been passed.
The bill also involved additional expenses estimated at RM14.75 million per annum.
The bill also proposed that monthly allowance for members of the senate be increased to RM7,000 from RM4,112.79. – November 27, 2014.
