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KOTA KINABALU: It’s eyewash, says Kalabakan MP Datuk Abdul Ghapur Salleh of the move to cut allowances and paid holidays for ministers and their deputies.
He said it did not make sense to limit paid holidays for ministers and their families to local and Asean countries as such destinations could still be as expensive. “I believe that they should set a figure for paid holiday expenses and let the ministers, their deputies and families go anywhere they want but they should not be able to claim more than their fixed entitlement,” he said, explaining that the free passage should be a fixed holiday passage. He stressed that limiting paid holidays to Asean countries would not meet the government objective of cutting spending as announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday. In a statement, Ghapur said the 10% entertainment allowance cut for ministers and deputies was small. “It is not necessary to cut that allowance as it only translates to a few hundred ringgit,” he added. He said the Government’s cost-cutting measures following the increase in fuel prices were not enough as the people were going through difficult times following steep price increases in goods and services. “As an elected MP, I am finding it difficult to explain the fuel increases to the rakyat. They are not convinced by the Government’s argument when we are an oil-producing country,” he said. “They are pulling wool over the eyes of the people to make it look like they are also cutting back and we do not see how this is going to bring down prices for the lower-income people.” - The Star
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