Youth and Sports Minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman in a tweet last night, said he disagreed with ending the critical allowance.
"We should review all the allowances given to politicians and ministers such as myself," he said.
He said doctors, nurses and those in critical sectors were already overworked and underpaid.
Syed Saddiq then vowed to cut down the amount of annual leave he has, as well as return "every sen" he received in holiday allowance. He said he will ensure other allowances will be reduced as well.
Potong allowances Ahli Politik & menteri, bukan allowance kritikal bagi doktor, pharmacist, nurses muda.
Saya bantah pekeliling baru JPA yang melibatkan banyak anak muda dalam sektor kerajaan.
Saya pendekkan cuti saya, pulangkan allowance percutian & teruskan potongan gaji 10% pic.twitter.com/XSwIyvFceK
— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) December 24, 2019
Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak today mocked Syed Saddiq's tweet, saying the minister should WhatsApp his cabinet colleagues who are busy on holiday about the allowance cuts.
In a Facebook post yesterday, Najib also questioned why the critical allowances for doctors in the civil service were cut, when private clinics were now free to set how much to charge for consultation fees.
"I hope there won't be a situation where government clinics and hospitals don't have enough doctors or nurses and the people are forced to visit private clinics and hospitals which have raised their charges," he added.
The Malaysian Medical Association, meanwhile, tweeted that the decision to cut critical allowances will demoralise healthcare professionals who are overworked, understaffed, and underpaid.
https://www.malaysiakini.com/news/504821
Syed Saddiq disagrees with the ending of, critical allowance