DUN sitting allowance may have been overlooked, says minister

Abdul Karim speaks to reporters when met at the RTM event.

KUCHING (May 28): The sitting allowance of the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) Sarawak members might have been overlooked throughout the years since 1980, as no one has ever brought up the matter in the august House, said Minister of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.

Referring to what Daro assemblyman Safiee Ahmad stated during the debate on the Yang di-Pertua Negeri Sarawak’s address in the august House on Thursday, with regard to the review over the allowance rate of DUN members, Abdul Karim believed that having such review was ‘timely’.

It is understood that for every single DUN session held, members of the Assembly would be given an allowance of RM50, significantly lower than the sitting allowance for district councillor, despite the DUN being the highest legislative body in Sarawak.

“On average, the sitting allowance of a district councillor is at about RM100 per day,” he said when interviewed during RTM’s ‘Juh Bermukun Non-Stop for 76 Days’ programme at RTM Kuching Auditorium yesterday.

Abdul Karim, who is also the Minister of Youth, Sport and Entrepreneur Development, said an increment of RM50 to the allowance would not be significant considering that the DUN Sarawak sitting would only take place for around two weeks.

“This increment will not have much significant effect on the state’s expenditure as a DUN sitting only lasts for two weeks, with the expenses being minimal.

“In that regard, I believe the people of Sarawak will understand this rationale; however, I think the opposition may twist and spin this issue,” said Abdul Karim.

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