Sukarti (fourth right) launching the Sabah Puspanita Sabah Branch Family Day celebration, yesterday, while Hairani (third right) and Abu Bakar (right) look on.
KOTA KINABALU: Civil servants in the state have reason to be more committed now with the increased emolument allocation to RM702.51 million channelled towards their salaries.
The call came from State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman, adding that the ‘good news’ which came along with the unveiling of the Sabah State Budget 2014 should encourage many to be more committed, especially in continuing towards the state’s development.
Speaking when launching the Puspanita Sabah Branch Family Day, here, yesterday, he said civil servants played an important role in ensuring that all planned programmes and projects are executed according to plan.
He said the increased emolument was part of efforts to standardise the salaries of civil servants under the Malaysian Remuneration System which took effect this year.
“We should also be thankful with the bonus announced by Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman when unveiling the state budget on Friday and show our appreciation by providing the best service,” he said.
Musa disclosed that the 17,400 civil servants in Sabah will be paid a half month bonus or a minimum of RM500 each, which will be incorporated to their salary in January next year.
On another development, Sukarti urged District Officers or their assistants who are acting Puspanita advisors at the district level, to play a more important role to further strengthen the association.
He said that efforts to transform Puspanita at district or sub-district levels should be further boosted to allow members to carry out more activities that would be beneficial to the people.
“To ensure that the association continues to stay relevant, members must also find the best approach and methods to ensure that their programmes are organised smoothly.
Meanwhile, Puspanita Sabah Branch chairlady, who is also Sukarti’s wife, Puan Sri Hairani Hussaini, disclosed that the event was aimed at fostering closer rapport among members and their families.
Apart from aerobics, members and their families had a fun-filled day with programmes like telematch, fancy dress competition and booths.
Also present was Sabah Federal Secretary, Datuk Abu Bakar Hassan.