SINGAPORE — Yesterday (24 Nov 2022), the Malaysia King finally announced that Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim would become Malaysia’s 10th Prime Minister. Mr Anwar was sworn in at 5 pm in the late afternoon yesterday.

Datuk Seri Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin, Comptroller of the Royal Household of Istana Negara said the appointment of Mr Anwar, Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, was made in accordance with Article 40(2)(a) and Article 43(2)(a) of the Federal Constitution.

The King urged all the Members of the Parliament of Malaysia to join hands for the country’s future.

Anwar has reiterated that he would not take his salary as the prime minister so as to show solidarity with the people who are struggling with the rising cost of living.

At a rally, Anwar said he was taking the initiative because he was ashamed that the people were struggling with rising prices while their salaries remained the same.

“I will not take a salary as the prime minister because I am ashamed to take an RM80,000 (S$24,500) salary when the Orang Asli villagers I visited find it difficult to get RM400 a month, so do people who are receiving RM1,500 (minimum salary),” he said at Taman Orkid.

Anwar added that in order to strengthen the faith of the people who assumed all politicians are the same and are only interested in enriching themselves, he is determined that he and his family members will not receive any government projects.

Anwar also expressed his intention to downsize his Cabinet and lower the salaries of ministers.

Grace Fu: Lowering Pay Makes It Harder For Anyone Considering Political Office

Meanwhile, in Singapore, People’s Action Party (PAP) politician Grace Fu told Singaporeans that lowering politicians’ pay would make it harder for anyone to consider political office.

In 2012, when the government decided to cut the salary of ministers and political appointment holders in response to the lowest percentage of votes the ruling PAP ever garnered at the 2011 GE, Ms Fu posted some comments on her Facebook page.

She wrote, “When I made the decision to join politics in 2006, pay was not a key factor. Loss of privacy, public scrutiny on myself and my family and loss of personal time were.”

“The disruption to my career was also an important consideration. I had some ground to believe that my family would not suffer a drastic change in the standard of living even though I experienced a drop in my income. So it is with this recent pay cut,” she added.

“If the balance is tilted further in the future, it will make it harder for any one considering political office.”

The issue of Ministerial wage was brought up again in 2018 when Emeritus Minister Goh Chok Tong told the residents that if the ministerial pay is cut, Singapore will end up recruiting “very, very mediocre people” as officeholders.

But certainly, in other first-world countries, their political leaders do not think that they should be entitled to be paid high salaries.

For example, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is only paid an annual salary of US$281,047.

It is contrasting to see that the new Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would not be taking any salary in a show of solidarity with Malaysians who are struggling with the rising cost of living, while Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is taking a salary of S$2,200,000 annually.
Singaporeans, like Malaysians, are also struggling with the rising cost of living in these difficult times.
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