ALLOWANCE GIVEN TO TEACHERS FROM SABAH SHOULD BE INCREASED TO THE SAME RATE ENJOYED BY THEIR COUNTERPARTS FROM PENINSULA

Standardise teachers allowances: PPPS

KOTA KINABALU: A call has been made to have the housing allowances given to teachers from Sabah and Peninsular Malaysia to be standardised.

Sabah Bumiputera Graduate Education Officers Association (PPPS) in making the call said the allowance given to teachers from Sabah should be increased to the same rate enjoyed by their counterparts from peninsula.

Its chairman, Hamid Abdul Rahmat said the monthly allowance for teachers from Sabah is much lower as compared to those from peninsula and it is high time for the Education Ministry to be fair to them by reviewing the scheme.

“Teachers from Semenanjung have been enjoying special housing allowances, and we are not saying this is unjustified but there should be a fair treatment to all teachers. We in Sabah felt neglected in this aspect,” he said to New Sabah Times yesterday.

Hamid noted that in 1987 the Ministry gave a huge housing allowance scheme for teachers from peninsula that were posted in Sabah by matching whatever the rent of the house they were staying.

Some of the teachers back then, according to him, had to cough outRM2,000 in monthly rental.

Taking into consideration the geographical factors and the lack of basic infrastructures in Sabah at that time, and the effort by the government to encourage more qualified teachers from peninsula to serve in Sabah, the scheme was appropriate.

“But today the number of graduate teachers from Sabah has grown, the basic facilities in Sabah is also much better than before. The responsibility shouldered by the teachers from Sabah is no less difficult and important than our fellow teachers from peninsula.

“As educationists who are proud of our jobs, we probably should not speak such cynical words as we do not intend for our noble jobs to be measured with monetary and material gain.

“But this is the fact. The Ministry of Education needs to come up with a better and fair housing allowance scheme,” he said.

Hamid also noted that teachers from Peninsular Malaysia were given Regional Housing Allowance while teachers from Sabah received only Fixed Housing Allowance, which means teachers from peninsula would received higher allowance the farther they are posted from home while teachers from Sabah would received about the same amount even if they are transferred to peninsular.

For comparison, teachers from Sabah with Grade DG29-32 receive a monthly allowance of RM180, while teachers from the peninsula receive RM830.

Those in DG41 and DG44 receive RM250 and RM400 as compared toRM930 received by teachers from peninsula.

Teachers from Sabah with Grade DG48 receive RM700 while teachers with the same grade from peninsula pocket RM1,130.

With the cheapest three-bedroom house and apartments in Kota Kinabalu costing around RM500 to RM600 a month, it means Sabahan teachers in the city with a grade below DG48 would have to fork additional money from their pockets to pay the rent.