KUCHING: Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) Youth Central deputy chairman Andrew Victor Nub has applauded the state government in its endeavour to pay a fixed monthly allowance of RM300 to all 745 local government councillors.
Andrew, who is also Mambong SUPP Youth chief, said the state government’s move was not a sign of power abuse, as alleged by Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin.
“I would like to remind Willie that in 2018, the Penang government appointed 48 individuals as councillors of both Penang Island City Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council in which each councillor received a sum of RM4,000 per month consisting of RM2,500 monthly allowance, RM1,200 meeting allowance and RM300 telephone allowance.
“Our Sarawak councillors, prior to this appointment, had never received any monthly allowance with the exception of a meeting allowance of RM100 per meeting,” he said.
“For many years, our councillors worked hard to serve the communities throughout Sarawak without making claims of not being paid, but rather doing their job with dedication.
“Those councillors used their own resources in performing council work, and the state government is giving them this RM300 a month as a means to
fulfil their responsibilities to the public. If compared to Penang, this amount is similar to a telephone allowance,” Andrew stressed.
“I am perplexed by YB Willie saying the amount of RM2.7mil annually for councillor allowance as a waste of public funds, while everyday 850,000 barrels of oil are taken from Sarawak, which is equivalent to at least RM200mil a day, to federal coffers. How much of this has the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government spent on Sarawak? Why has he not talked about it?”
Andrew further said: “To show his sincerity in representing Sarawakians in the Parliament, we expect him to speak out and fight for what is rightfully Sarawak’s. Let me remind YB Willie, Sarawak has not seen any of the promises from PH delivered, instead they are trying to divert their failure in fulfilling their promises by pointing fingers at Gabungan Parti Sarawak.”
“Please do not harp on what good Sarawak government is doing for Sarawakians but instead, concentrate more on what the federal government can do for Sarawakians. This is his role as a Member of Parliament chosen by the people of Sarawak,” he added.
