'BN empty promises won't buy civil servants homes'

The revelation that 60 percent of civil servants are still unable to purchase their own homes is testimony to BN’s failure to implement long term measures to uplift the rakyat, said PKR.

“PKR views seriously the recent tendency of the BN government to formulate short term policies that look attractive and friendly to the people at first sight, but that is really too good to be true, but are in fact temporary and unable to offer comprehensive solutions.

“The Cuepacs revelation ... is once again proof that the BN government has failed to implement long term measures ... especially in the area of quality housing,” said PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar (left).

She was responding in a statement to the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services’ (Cuepacs) revelation yesterday that about 60 percent of civil servants nationwide earning below RM3,000 a month, especially in the Klang Valley, are still unable to purchase their own houses.

“With a monthly income that has remained below RM3,000 after decades of service, it is not surprising that low-ranking civil servants cannot afford to own their own homes,” said the Lembah Pantai MP.

She added that it was “worrying” that till now, there was still no news of the salary review commission that Prime Minister Najib Razak promised on March 8.

Nurul Izzah blamed the government for being “biassed and one-sided”, citing as example the civil service salary reviews in February.

“In the SBPA’s recommendation, high ranking public officers will enjoy RM30, 000 to RM40,000 increments, while low ranking officers are expected to see increments between RM10 to RM20,” she said.

Amongst the recommendations PKR could recommend, she said, was to offer lower interest rates for civil servants’ housing loans, and to manage the property prices particularly in the urban areas so that they remain affordable.

She lamented that the government was instead more concerned with issuing “statement after statement” containing “empty promises”, such as the failed MAS-AirAsia merger, the ETP that offers no benefit to the majority of the people, or the “durian busuk” Felda Global Ventures Holdings listing windfall.