RM48,000 Spent Monthly On Staff Accorded To Each Of PM's Special Envoys
The government currently has three special envoys and they are each allocated five staff.
By May Vin Ang — 22 Sep 2021, 01:40 PM
An average of RM48,000 in salaries is spent on the staff accorded to each of the Prime Minister's special envoys
According to Malay Mail, the amount was disclosed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in a parliamentary reply on Tuesday, 21 September.
He was responding to Johor Bahru member of Parliament (MP) Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir, who asked the government for the overall cost of these ministerial-level appointments between 2020 and 2021, including their remunerations, allowances, office occupancy, and staff.
The current special envoys in office are Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (Middle East), Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (China), and Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem (Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan).
Ismail Sabri stated that each special envoy is provided five staff
The Star reported that each special envoy is allocated a senior private secretary, special officer, private secretary, office secretary, and a driver.
Their salaries are paid according to the Public Service Department's salary scale:
– A Grade 54 senior private secretary is paid a maximum monthly salary of RM13,251 and an allowance of RM2,000.
– A Grade 52 special officer is paid a maximum monthly salary of RM12,444 and an allowance of RM1,600.
– A private secretary between grades 41 and 44 receives an estimated monthly salary of RM10,406 and an allowance of RM1,100.
– An office secretary receives a monthly salary of RM3,256 and an allowance of RM810.
– A driver receives a monthly basic salary of RM2,939 and an allowance of RM745.
Ismail Sabri said this brings the exact total of staff monthly wages to RM48,551 per special envoy, or for all three, RM145,653 monthly and RM1.74 million annually.
He added that the special envoys' offices are located in existing spaces of the Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya without any cost.
The three special envoys were recently reappointed during Ismail Sabri's first Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister on 1 September
They hold the same positions as when they were appointed by former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in 2020.
Malaysiakini reported that a special envoy is an individual appointed by the Prime Minister to strengthen ties between Malaysia and a particular state or region.
