The Sabah state government announced a 48 percent increase in monthly allowance for 3,963 community heads in the state starting next month (September).

Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said the increase would benefit 57 district chiefs, 272 state native chiefs, 648 state native chief representatives, 2,810 village chiefs and also 176 heads in Sabah.

Hajiji said the increased allowance for district chiefs will be RM3,500 (29.6 percent) as compared with the RM2,700 received earlier, the allowance of state native chiefs will be increased from RM1,700 to RM2,500 (47.1 per cent increase), state native chief representatives from RM900 to RM1,300 (44.4 per cent increase), village chiefs and heads from RM700 to RM1,200 (71.4 per cent increase).

He added that the allowance of community leaders has not been reviewed since 2013, although the cost of living has increased drastically over the years.

“The state government values and recognises the important role of community leaders who serve the community with integrity and act as ‘judges’ in their respective communities to maintain peace and harmony. They also incur expenses to travel for meetings, courses or official functions outside their own districts.

“The increase in allowance reflects the state government’s commitment towards the wellbeing of the people in Sabah, especially community leaders, and will also serve as a motivation to the community leaders to serve their folks better,” he said in a statement today.

Hajiji added that the move was also in line with the aspiration of the state government’s ‘Hala Tuju Sabah Maju Jaya’ initiative.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency