Media Statement by Yeo Bee Yin,
State Assemblywoman for Damansara Utama on Saturday, 25 January 2014 in
Petaling Jaya.
The RM50 million the Finance Ministry spent in buying
non-essential tools for Fire and Rescue Department will better be spent on compensating
the 13,000 (mostly underpaid) firemen – it could well be a bonus of about
RM3,800 per fireman.
As revealed by the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC), the Barisan Nasional government has once again shown its
lack of accountability in utilizing rakyat’s money by spending RM50 million in
buying "CCS
Cobra Cutting Extinguisher E300" through direct negotiation. This came
even WITHOUT the Fire and Rescue Department requesting for it.
We
believe that the Fire Department will be better off if the money was used to
compensate the firemen in the form of bonus or pay increment. As of now, many
firemen have been underpaid - the basic salary of a junior fireman is lower
than RM1,000 and even a Station Commander is only about RM3,800. Furthermore,
they are not entitled to overtime claim. Under such a pay scheme, which is
significantly lower than their PDRM counterpart, even with some other
allowances, many firemen may still find it difficult to raise their families,
especially those who are based in Klang Valley area.
Why
did Putrajaya pay so generously to the supplier via direct negotiation but peanuts
to the men and women who are standing at the forefront to protect the lives and
property of the rakyat?
If
the RM50 million wasted by the Barisan Nasional government in buying "CCS Cobra Cutting Extinguisher
E300" was used to pay extra bonus to the 13,000 firemen, each fireman
could have taken home at least RM3,800 per person. This could certainly reduce
the burden of many firemen’s families especially in the view of rising cost of
living and subsequently boost the morale of the department.
Or if
the RM50 million was used to buy the much-needed fire engines to the fire
stations around Malaysia, it could have improved the effectiveness of the
firemen in fighting fire emergency as well as their personal safety while
performing their duties.
Therefore,
we call upon the Finance Ministry to give clear explanation as to why
unnecessary equipment was purchased and worse still without open tender. Putrajaya
must come clean and clear on whether Fire and Rescue Department has been ‘used’
as a channel to enrich others at the expense of the benefit of the firemen and
the safety of the public.
