PUTRAJAYA: The Prime Minister has called on civil servants to be patient as the government finds ways to resolve the country’s financial issues and address their concerns.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he was aware of the request by Cuepacs for a review of civil servants' salaries.
“However, while I agree in principle to a revision, there are issues such as the country’s debt and deficit that must be considered.
“If we increase the salaries of civil servants, it will increase our deficit,” he told the media here on Monday (Feb 27).
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The Prime Minister explained that a higher deficit would result in investors losing confidence in the government’s political will to manage the country well.
“So, I ask civil servants to be patient. As it is, I have tried to ensure that the country’s revenue is given to the people as much as possible in Budget 2023,” he added.
Cuepacs had expressed disappointment that the re-tabled Budget did not address the issue of rising cost of living which continues to be a burden on civil servants.
Its president Datuk Adnan Mat said there was no commitment by the government in the Federal Budget to raise the wages of civil servants to match the high cost of living.
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He had said that civil servants wanted a new remuneration system, pointing out that the present one has not been reviewed since November 2002 and is not suitable for the current economic climate.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, tabled the revised Budget 2023 on Friday (Feb 24).
