SARAWAK’S special incentive payment to state civil servants, who “worked tirelessly to protect our people” from Covid-19, has been met with unease by those outside the service.

Chief Minister Abang Johari Openg announced the payment of 1½ months of their basic salary or a minimum of RM2,000 for state civil servants and a one-off RM500 to those in the federal service, in the state assembly, which concluded its truncated sitting on November 12.

To justify the payment, Abang Johari said there were “countless other members of the civil service who are working behind the scene, away from the glare of publicity, but working diligently in their respective workplaces”.

The chief minister said they have “risked their own safety and sacrificed their comfort”.

However, Paul Raja, president of the native rights advocacy group Dayak National Congress (DNC), said the state government has its priorities wrong.

The state government should pour in more money to keep businesses afloat and save jobs, and not on civil servants, who are not facing salary cuts or job losses.

“The public sector is minimally affected because they still have their job and are still drawing salaries.

“Whom does the government compensate? Those who have secure jobs and still drawing salaries, while those who have lost their jobs and have no income are left in lurch,” he said.

Paul said the special payments are the state government “taking care” its vote bank.

“The public sector that obediently will vote for them at every election.”

Lawyer and politician Abun Sui Anyit agrees with Paul’s assessment on the state’s priorities.

“The money should have been put to assist ailing companies. It’s like putting oil into the engine.

“You need to lubricate the economy. Germany is doing this by helping the private sector so that up to 70% of businesses do not collapse,” Abun said.

Help needed elsewhere

An entrepreneur in the hard-hit tourism and travel industry said she would “agree 100% to give bonus to those civil servants that really are front-liners, like policemen manning roadblocks and staff in government hospitals”.

“I have nothing against the civil servants but those working from home (do not deserve it),” the entrepreneur, who prefers to remain anonymous so as not to exacerbate the feud the industry has with the state government over its Covid-19 financial assistance.

Civil servants, apart from being secure in their job and salary, also receive various government financial assistance, like the federal Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN) and Bantuan Sara Hidup (BSH).

“In Sarawak, if they are in the B40 group, they are also eligible to receive the Bantuan Sarawakku Sayang.

“The private sector, particularly the tourism sector, is struggling. Some have closed their businesses through no fault of theirs,” she said.

Border closures, travel restrictions and shortened business hours to break the chain of transmission of the Covid-19 have taken a toll on most businesses, especially those in the tourism sector.

Her anger stems from the willingness of the government to pay a few thousand civil servants at least a minimum of RM2,000 but refuses to give the state’s 500 tour guides a one-off payment of RM1,500.

“Around 500 only, still they won’t give a one-off payment of RM1,500.”

Sarawak PKR youth’s Sam Saiful Nizam said the payment should have been only for those serving on the front-lines and the low-ranking civil servants below a certain salary grade.

Senior and high-salaried civil servants should have been excluded, he said.

Sam said the state government should have embarked on salary, allowance cuts and zero bonus for all state ministers and senior civil servants, including senior managers of state government-linked companies and statutory bodies.

The money saved, he said, could be redirected to the poor, vulnerable, marginalised and deprived segments of the population hit by pandemic.

“Micro, small and medium businesses also deserve urgent assistance to prevent massive lay-offs or even permanent job loss.”

Josh John, who is on disability welfare assistance, said he fears the payment could trigger inflation as businessmen try to recoup their losses. 

He said it is people like him who will feel the pinch most. – November 23, 2020.