GEORGE TOWN – Penang has decided to emulate the federal government by donating one month of their salary to battle Covid-19.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said in a statement that he, his two deputies as well as state executive councillors have decided to take a pay cut in lieu of the growing number of infections in the state.
“The decision was made to mark a sign of solidarity in fighting the pandemic and the donation would be channelled towards public healthcare and revitalising the state’s economy.”
This is the second donation of its kind that the state government has made. The first was made last year.
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin in a special televised announcement on Monday said that ministers and deputy ministers will not be taking a salary for three months starting June.
Their salaries will instead be channelled to the Crisis Trust Fund for Covid-19-related expenditures.
Economist Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, who is chairman of the Centre for Public Policy Studies under the Asian Strategy and Leadership Institute, proposed that any person earning RM10,000 and above in both the public and private sectors must be compelled to donate to the cause of setting up a national food bank.
“We need all the help we can get in helping those drastically affected by the pandemic; those who are struggling to put food on the table due to job or income losses,” he said. – The Vibes, June 2, 2021
