LETTER | Anwar should take the pay, deliver the results

LETTER | Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is living up to his promise not to take any allowances so long the country’s economy has not fully recovered.

He recently informed Khazanah that he would not be taking the allowance for meetings and would return what had already been deposited into his account.

He also reiterated he does not draw a salary for the prime minister’s post and as finance minister, receives neither a salary nor allowances.

This is magnanimous and big-hearted of the PM and empathetic to the many people suffering due to the current financial doldrums.

However, his sacrifices and benevolence offer little solace or respite to the populace.

What he doesn’t take home as salary and allowances for all his posts is a pittance and does not compensate for what the nation and many have to navigate daily through racial and religious provocation, anxiety, and financial hardships.

The nation and its people suffer economically due to business boycotts brought about by frequent racial and religious incendiary accusations and provocation.

It divides the people and even further tribalises them into subgroups based on degrees of acceptance and the polars of moderation and extremism.

The PM and government have done little or have been too late to douse the flames of inviolable issues of race and religion.

A meek squeak to stop was meted out when an assertive and strong voice and a swift investigation by legal authorities were needed.

Often, the responsibility to stanch the rising tide of these racial and religious incitements was foisted on the heads of the component parties of the government, whose voice and actions were equally weak and tentative.

The royal institution had to step in but it was lazy and irresponsible of Anwar and the government to abdicate their duties and responsibilities to the said institution.

Economic recovery is at a pedestrian pace, the ringgit has remained weak for protracted periods and some of our Asean neighbours who used to lag behind us in attracting foreign direct investments have now surpassed us.

Costs of living continue to rise and wage increments are not in tandem. People are cutting down on expenditure even for festive celebrations, likely because there is not much to celebrate.

Election promises on social, health, and legal amendments and improvement have been slow in coming, or even worse, shelved. Some which have been amended are watered down and even turned out for the worse.

Woefully, this no salary and allowances thoughtfulness and compassion has brought little success and improvement to the country.

Anwar appears to be merely going through the motions of running the country and there appears to be little chutzpah, innovation, or moral courage on local issues from his leadership.

Perhaps, Anwar should take his full salary and allowance which he is entitled to.

By getting paid from government coffers, which are mainly generated from taxes paid by the people and businesses, it may galvanise him and get him off his current staid and insecure persona.

He may feel compelled or obliged with his remuneration to act and lead the people who believed and had faith in his courage and progressive moderate principles during his long years in the political wilderness.

Just like the majority of voters, the previous king too put his faith in Anwar that he would be the best possible PM to lead the country out of six decades of corruption, racial and religious polemics, and patchy economic growth with vast income gaps between rich and poor.

This no salary or allowances decision, however well-meaning and thoughtful it was, does not seem to be working, and the country is regressing socially, economically, racially, and religiously.

It will be a small price for the nation to pay for all of Anwar’s salaries and allowances if he as prime minister can lead us to the peaceful, progressive, and prosperous nation he once told us and made us believe it can be.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.

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