Najib woos federal agency workers with better perks

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 ― The Najib Razak administration today moved to appease some 40,000 employees of federal agencies by agreeing to boost their benefits ahead of key national polls.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today Putrajaya’s approval for a new pension fund, the provision of fixed allowances and gratuity for retirees, and the streamlining of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions for all seven bodies, meaning employers’ contribution will be made commensurate with the duration of service.

“This is a government that hears the pulse of the people. We must put the people first,” Najib Razak said in his speech before some 2,000 statutory body employees at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

The move came after months of negotiations between Najib’s government and workers’ unions, which at one point threatened to back the opposition should Putrajaya fail to meet the demands made since 2008, according to an anonymous union leader.

The civil service is a key vote bank for the ruling BarisanNasional (BN) coalition, which is gearing up for what is set to be its toughest election to date.

Wary of a possible discontent within the public service, Najib Razak moved to placate the key voter group by agreeing to meet their demands for improved benefits as well as increasing pay.

But the prime minister was quick to dismiss suggestions that his government was adopting populist measures to sustain support from the civil servants, saying today’s announcement was done after careful consideration based on economic viability.

Najib Razak said populism was a tactic favoured only by the opposition, and argued that meeting the election pledges made by Pakatan Rakyat would bankrupt the country.

“If we take this populist attitude, giving everything without considering the importance of good governance, the country would descend into the valley of economic destruction,” he said.

The federal opposition bloc Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had in its election manifesto promised to increase salaries both in the public and private sectors through better management of the economy.

It also promised to continue subsidising fuel and basic goods, where BN announced plans to slash subsidies amid concerns of rising public debt; PR leaders insist their welfare programmes are viable if corruption is tackled.

Najib’s government had described PR’s pledges as unrealistic, unreasonable and populist. In turn, his administration was accused of courting voters through policies such as the cash handouts under the 1 Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) that cost more than RM1 billion public funds.

The BR1M programme had contributed significantly to the prime minister’s approval rating, according to a previous MerdekaCenter survey, and Najib had promised to make it an annual event should BN retain power.

Boost for nation’s digital economy

NEW MEASURES: Time to ensure greater inclusiveness of Digital Malaysia’s stakeholders
PUTRAJAYA: MALAYSIA has mapped out six new initiatives to drive the Digital Malaysia Programme, which is tailored to increase the information and communications technology sector’s contribution to the country’s revenue.


Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said they would be anchored on the three key strategic thrusts of Digital Malaysia, dubbed as “game changers”.
This will move Malaysia from being supply to demand focused, shift behaviours from being consumption to production-centric and evolve the country into a high knowledge-added nation.
Encompassing an ecosystem that promotes the pervasive use of ICT in all aspects of the economy, the initiatives promise real-time interactions that will result in increased Gross National Income, enhanced productivity and improved standard of living.

Speaking at the 24th MSC Malaysia Implementation Council Meeting and 15th MSC Malaysia International Advisory Panel, Najib said while Malaysia was still a new and comparatively small entrant to the global digital economy, the country was confident of its formulated strategies that would help advance it with other developed nations.

The new initiatives would focus, among others, on tapping demand for digital products and services, and increasing citizen income and unlocking entrepreneurship potential for the bottom 40 per cent (B40) of the community.Najib, who chaired the meetings, said the country needed to create effective and efficient production and marketing channels for Malaysian companies to grow their domestic and global reach.
“I approve the ‘Silicon Valley Comes to Malaysia 2′, and also a programme to attract two ICT Accelerators which will co-invest and speed up the development of local entrepreneurs, by offering advice, mentorship and practical training.”

He said with an estimated 2.4 million households living on an average monthly income of RM1,440, there was a strong need to enhance digital entrepreneurial skills of underprivileged communities, to help them develop new sources of income and improve their quality of life.

Najib, who is also finance minister, said in enhancing small and medium-enterprises’ productivity and competitiveness while increasing their contribution to the Gross Domestic Product, five new programmes would be introduced to push them towards becoming regional and global players.
To facilitate this, Najib said the MSC Corp had been instructed to start a “breakout strategy” to make it easier for the estimated 77 per cent of the country’s micro SMEs to adopt IT.

Later, at a press conference, Najib said the meeting also discussed “Spectrum Allocation”, which he said could be a new way of disbursing allocations, by opening up more opportunities through partnerships with the private sector.
From the discussions yesterday, he said there were significant opportunities in the field of talent, entrepreneurship and commerce that could drive the economy of the future, if the right investments in people and technologies were made.
Najib said with plans already in place, the time had come to ensure greater inclusiveness of Digital Malaysia’s stakeholders.
“Government, industries and our community must now work together to harness opportunities that the digital economy has to offer.

“It is imperative that we lend our voices and take the necessary action to drive the actualisation of a digital economy, which can spur Malaysia’s transformation.”
Najib also said the Digital Malaysia Programme was reaching its target of increasing the country’s Gross National Income to 17 per cent, creating 160,000 high-value jobs.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak presenting the Malaysia Apicta 2012 Award to the founder of Adavista Sdn Bhd, Azli Paat (second from left), at the 15th MSC Malaysia International Advisory Panel meeting in Putrajaya yesterday. With them are Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (left), Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili (second from right) and IAP invitee Guo Jun Feng. Pic by Fariz Iswadi Ismail
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