Former Malaysian Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq recently revealed his monthly pay when he was serving in the ministry.
No need for ministers to be corrupt as they earn quite a bit
Taking to Facebook and Twitter to reject corruption accusations that surfaced when RM250,000 (S$81,700) was stolen from his house, he said he does not understand the need for ministers to be corrupt as they earn quite a substantial sum each month.
The combined salaries of a minister and Member of Parliament (MP) is about RM55,000 a month (S$17,974), he said.
In addition, they get extra incentives if they make frequent trips to the areas they are serving or attend programmes located far from the office.
They also get allowances for various things, such as RM70,000 (S$22,874) for annual vacations, RM180 (S$59) for meals, RM10,000 (S$3,267) if they are moving to a new home, and even RM42,000 (S$13,722) for crockery.
Furthermore, they get another one-off payment of RM150,000 (S$49,058) if they are dismissed from their role.
Syed Saddiq also further refuted allegations that the money stolen from his home belonged to the Bersatu party, saying he would not have reported the theft to the police himself if the money did not belong to him and his family.
Some felt disappointed with the income gap between them & the ministers
While some Malaysians commended him for being truthful about his salary and benefits, some others were disappointed with the massive income gap between ministers and the ordinary people.
Top image via Syed Saddiq's Facebook