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By Mihar Dias
Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul recently lamented that the monthly salary of RM25,000 for MPs is “insufficient.” Daily Express
Ministers, he noted, earn about RM40,000 — still apparently a stretch once you factor in staff, research, utilities, and the endless demands of constituents seeking help with medical bills or school fees.Daily Express
On paper, it sounds reasonable. Public office is not a nine-to-five job; MPs carry expectations far beyond lawmaking.
Constituents queue at their doors, and MPs often dip into personal funds for aid.
The RM2 million annual constituency allocation doesn’t land in their pockets — it goes to local projects, not personal expenses. So yes, MPs often end up playing ATM machines as well as legislators.Daily Express
But here’s the problem: try explaining “insufficient” to the rakyat when wages have barely budged, the ringgit slides, and the price of basic goods keeps climbing. RM25,000 a month may sound “thin” to the Speaker, but for millions of Malaysians it is not just comfortable, it’s unimaginable.
This is where the gap widens — not just between MP and rakyat incomes, but between perception and reality. The rakyat sees luxury cars in Parliament car parks, ministers flying business class, and MPs posting Raya photos in tailored baju Melayu. Against that backdrop, pleading poverty at RM25,000 feels tone-deaf.
Let us not forget Jakarta. Just months ago, riots erupted when lawmakers in Indonesia debated raising their own allowances amid economic hardship. The people saw it as arrogance, a widening gulf between rulers and ruled. Have we forgotten that? Or are we waiting for a Malaysian version of the same street anger?
Yes, MPs deserve fair compensation to do their jobs properly. A poorly paid politician is a vulnerable one, tempted by “alternative income streams.”
But timing matters. In an era when Malaysians skip meals, when young families juggle two jobs to afford rent, when students default on PTPTN, talk of raising MP salaries is politically suicidal.
Instead of floating pay hikes, perhaps MPs should demand institutional reforms: better funding for constituency offices, transparent budgets for research staff, proper systems to channel welfare requests.
Strengthen the machinery so MPs aren’t forced to be personal benefactors. That would address the Speaker’s concerns without sparking public outrage.
At the end of the day, leadership is about sacrifice. If MPs truly feel their income is stretched thin, they should walk in the rakyat’s shoes for a month on RM2,500, not RM25,000. Then, and only then, would the complaint carry moral weight.
Until then, talk of “insufficient” salaries at RM25,000 will sound less like financial hardship, and more like comedy at the rakyat’s expense.
Mihar Dias (mihardias@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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