Call on Cabinet next Wednesday to issue directive to freeze all increases of salaries and allowances of GLCs and GLICs until economic recovery and to sack GLC and GLIC nominees who violate the Cabinet directive

I call on the Cabinet next Wednesday to issue a directive to freeze all increases of salaries and allowances of Government-linked companies (GLCs) and Government-linked Investment Companies (GLICs) and to sack GLC and GLIC nominees who violate the Cabinet directive.

The Cabinet directive should be presented to Parliament on July 18 for parliamentary sanction.

Two days ago, the Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri Yaacob, announced that families who receive Keluarga Malaysia Aid (BKM) will get an extra RM100 while BKM recipients who are single will receive an additional RM50 in view of the rising cost of living, with chicken and egg prices expected to go up next month after the ceiling prices are abolished on July 1.

But yesterday, the FGV Holdings Bhd that is 80 per cent owned by Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) held its annual general meeting and voted for the increase of the annual allowance of the FGV chairman to RM480,000 from RM300,000 – an increase of RM180,000 – and the increase of the annual allowance of the six Board directors to RM150,000 from RM120,000.

This is not only most excessive in troubled economic times, but downright obscene, and must be smacked down by the Cabinet and Parliament.

Malaysians must thank the Deputy DAPSY leader and Pahang State Assemblywoman for Ketari, Young Shefura Othman for making such a shocking disclosure by the FGV Holdings Bhd AGM.

The Cabinet and Parliament must send out a strong and unmistakable message that this is the time for belt-tightening and not for extravagance and waste.

Will the Cabinet and Parliament send out such a message?

The Chairman of FGV Holdings Bhd. Dato’ Dzulkifli Abd Wahab and the six Board members, can help retrieve the situation by declaring that they would not accept the indecent increase in the allowances.