Cuepacs wants Anwar to maintain all initiatives announced by previous govt

KUALA LUMPUR: The Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) has called for the new government under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to maintain all initiatives for civil servants that had been announced by the previous government.

Its president Datuk Adnan Mat said the initiatives announced by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Aug 30 and the tabling of Budget 2023 on Nov 7 were what the government as an employer promised civil servants.

"It is not appropriate for it to be withdrawn just because of a change of government. It must be implemented according to the previously announced date.

"Cuepacs does not want the same thing to happen in 2018 when the initiatives promised by the government are not fulfilled when there is a change of government in the 14th General Election (GE14)," he said in a statement today.

The initiatives announced for civil servants by the previous government include a special RM100 addition to the Annual Salary Increment from next January, RM700 special financial assistance for 2023 in January, RM350 financial assistance for retirees and RM600 special Aidilfitri assistance for March next year.

On the disappointment of civil servants in 2018, Adnan said that it should not have happened because as an employer, the government could not withdraw its initiatives after all the sacrifices civil servants made in carrying out their responsibilities as the country's administrative machinery.

In 2018 before GE14, the Barisan Nasional (BN) government announced a salary increase equivalent to a year's annual salary increase for all civil servants; the second time-based promotion was reduced to 10 years and the addition of Grade DG 56 for teachers, but they were not implemented following the change of the federal government.

Cuepacs expressed confidence that all MPs would support the Prime Minister during the tabling of the mini budget on Dec 19.

Anwar took the oath of office as Malaysia's 10th Prime Minister in front of Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah last Thursday after GE15 election results produced a hung Parliament.

-- BERNAMA