Malaysian PM cuts Cabinet salary
Kuala Lumpur, May 23: Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad on Wednesday announced a 10 per cent pay cut for ministers in his Cabinet in a bid to control spending as the new government deals with high-level debt exceeding more than $251.5 billion.
Mahathir made the announcement at the first Cabinet meeting attended by more than a dozen of the newly sworn-in ministers, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Malaysia's debt is around 65 per cent of the country's GDP. We are concerned about the country's financial problem, Mahathir told reporters after the meeting.
The Prime Minister said he will not force other senior civil servants to follow suit, but they can do so if they want to contribute towards reducing the cost of running this country.
Since taking power after the election victory, Mahathir has been focusing on implementing the commitments promised during the campaign, including abolishing the 6 per cent goods and services taxe, which the rating firm Moody's said could narrow the country's tax base and strain fiscal strength.
Aside from the pay cut, he has been advocating other measures, including forming a small Cabinet, downsizing the government and recovering some assets related to the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) state fund overseas.
He said, the Land Public Transport Commission will be disbanded, with its previous functions placed under the Transport Ministry, while several other "non-essential" institutions will be dissolved.
Besides, he touched on the review process of some mega projects, saying the government is studying which will be scraped and which will be continued.
In addition, he said the government is reviewing the contract for the search of the missing MH370 flight. "If we find that it is not necessary, we will not renew (the contract)," he said.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
