KUCHING: Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said the state needs to push infrastructure development to transform Sarawak.
“Look at China for example, as it is the second world economic power of infrastructure.
“That’s why; the state must impose the five per cent sales tax on petroleum to push our development of infrastructure here.
“When the multiplying factors (MFs) increase, the quality of the work must be improved as well,” he said at a dialogue session with Association of Consulting Engineers Malaysia (ACEM) here yesterday.
Meanwhile, ACEM Sarawak branch has appealed to the state government to revise the multiplying factors (MFs) for site supervision staff, especially in the interior.
According to ACEM, it is important with the current unpredictable ‘big push’ for rural infrastructure development, to deploy staff to these remote and difficult sites.
“MFs are like a pay scale matrix to be paid to the staff.
“Thus, it will enable permanent position or long-term contract of at least five years for site staff and improve the morale of site staff,” said ACEM representative Roland Lim.
He said increasing the MFs would enable employers to deploy staff immediately when the project commenced.
Lim revealed that the Ministry of Finance (MOF) approved the MFs rates at 1.70 and 1.40 in 1980s. The Sarawak government adopted the same MFs then.
“MOF has revised it in 2011 as maximum MFs is 2.70 for professionals and 2.10 for sub-professionals. However, Sarawak has not revised it since 1980s.
“ACEM is appealing to the Sarawak government for the rate of MFs to be at least 1.85 and 2.20,” he said.
Apart from this, ACEM also appealed for time charge and site allowances for supervision of soil investigation works to be reimbursable as well as to unify the allowance rates for professionals and sub-professionals at RM950 and RM800 per month respectively for state funded projects.
“Over 1,000 professional engineers registered in Sarawak and it has 6,000 to 7,000 graduates of engineers registered.
“That makes up about seven to eight per cent of the total engineering population in Malaysia,” Lim said.
Currently, Sarawak has a total of 200 engineering consultancy practices with the exception of a few large engineering consultancy firms.
