COMMENT | While many appear to publicly support Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement of a wage increase of 7-15 percent for civil servants in the support, managerial, and professional categories, many also privately sneer and snigger at the move.

What? Such a bloated civil service, on top of inefficiency, corruption, and incompetence. Why do they deserve a salary increment, they ask. However, examining it coolly and discarding the prejudiced image of the civil service we have shows a different picture.

The salary adjustment will likely catalyse similar moves in the private sector, despite resistance from the Malaysian Employers Federation, whose sole function appears to be to depress employee wages and always resist wage increases, including the minimum wage, to benefit employers.

The last time civil servants got a salary adjustment was over 12 years ago. Isn’t it high time they are given one? Living costs have gone up so much. Are private sector workers the only ones whose wages should be reviewed periodically every three years or so?