KUCHING: Parti Rakyat Sarawak’s (PRS) Youth chief has urged Puncak Borneo MP Willie Mongin to be realistic and appreciative of local councillors.
Datuk Snowdan Lawan (pic), who is also Youth and Sports Assistant Minister, was responding to Willie’s statement, which described the RM300 monthly allowance given by the state government to councillors as an abuse of power and a blatant misuse of public funds.
Snowdan said councillors were appointed to assist the state government and thus, they deserved some allowance.
“Why deprive them of this token when they are of service to the state?
“They are real workers in the field, willing to sacrifice their time and effort overseeing, reporting the status of projects carried out by the state government,” he said.
“I assume, if Pakatan Harapan (PH) is the state government now, they would have done the same, or probably given a larger sum, then turn it around by criticising Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) for not doing what ought to be done.
“It is a small sum compared to other states in Semenanjung,” Snowdan said.
Penang, for instance, gives out RM2,500 as fixed allowance, an attendance allowance of RM1,200 and RM300 as telephone allowance, totalling up to RM4,000 per month.
“To say that it is an abuse of power and blatant misuse of public funds is gross ignorance on his (Willie) part to what PH itself does in Semenanjung, and is not justifiable,” Snowdan pointed out.
According to Snowdan, appointments of councillors are quite stringent, result-oriented with KPI attached besides being able to resolve people’s woes and people-centric.
He added that for most councillors in the rural areas, and in view of the distance that they have to travel, this allowance hopefully will mitigate rising costs and inspire them to be more effective.
“It is not rationale for Willie to label them as GPS’ tools for propaganda to win elections.
“In all sincerity, if there is nothing better for Willie to contribute, the very least, I expect him to be supportive of this noble move by our Chief Minister for our serving councillors,” he added.
