Govt argues ministers' pay hike good for all

Govt argues ministers' pay hike good for all

JAKARTA (JP): The government has defended its plan to raise
the salaries of state officials, saying a more appropriate pay
level would allow officials to concentrate on their job without
seeking additional sources of income.

President Abdurrahman Wahid was quoted by State Minister of
Cooperatives, Small and Medium Enterprises Zarkasih Nur as saying
that he and other Cabinet ministers were not interested in
enriching themselves through proposing the salary hike.

Zarkasih contended that it was merely part of the President's
strategy to create an honest and clean government.

"The President said he wants to increase the ministers'
salaries because he did not want them to think of anything other
than their job," the minister said after the meeting at Merdeka
Palace.

Legislators reacted harshly on Thursday when asked to comment
on leaked reports that top state officials would get hefty pay
rises.

They said they could understand the planned 20 percent pay
increase for civil servants but rebuked the consideration of a
wage hike for top officials.

The President is expected to submit the draft budget for the
2000 fiscal year to the House of Representatives (DPR) on
Thursday. The proposed salary hikes are included in the draft
budget.

According to the proposal, the President's gross monthly pay
will increase from Rp 33 million (US$4,580) to Rp 107.4 million,
while Vice President Megawati Soekarnoputri would also make more
money with Rp 89.5 million.

The speakers of the House of Representatives (DPR) and
People's Consultative Assembly (MPR) and the chief of the Supreme
Audit Agency (BPK) will increase their pay almost nine-fold to Rp
45.5 million, while legislators would make about Rp 27.6 million
per month.

Cabinet members, the chief justice of the Supreme Court and
military chiefs will earn Rp 44.75 million per month compared to
their current Rp 5.6 million.

Minister of Finance Bambang Sudibyo shot back at critics,
saying the current pay of top state officials was in no way
compatible with executives in the private sector.

He said the proposed increase for civil servants would bring
them in line with private sector salaries.

In the past the government acknowledged that civil servants'
wages were lower than the mandatory minimum wage for the private
sector.

Bambang complained that his salary was much lower than that of
the Bank Indonesia governor and other officials who are under his
supervision, including the head of the Indonesian Bank
Restructuring Agency (IBRA).

"The minister of finance's salary may be only one-seventh or
one-eighth of theirs," Bambang said after attending a plenary
Cabinet meeting.

"My salary should be higher than them because my appointment
was based on a presidential decree," the minister remarked.

The meeting, which was chaired by the President, also
discussed the pay rise plan as a part of the budget draft. (prb)