MORE than RM48,000 in wages was spent on five staff members assigned to three government envoys, the Dewan Rakyat was told.

       Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) gave the figure in a parliamentary reply dated Sept 21, in response to a question by Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir (PH-Johor Baru).

       Akmal had asked about the overall cost, including allowance, remuneration, office occupancy and staff, for minister-level special envoys between 2020 and this year.

       Ismail Sabri said the officers of the Special Envoy to the Middle East, China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan were allocated five staff members – a Grade 54 senior private secretary, a Grade 52 special officer, a private secretary between Grade 41 and 44, an office secretary and driver.

       A Grade 54 senior private secretary receives a basic monthly salary of RM13,251 and RM2,000 allowance.

       A Grade 52 special officer receives a monthly salary of RM12,444 with RM1,600 allowance, while a private secretary from Grade 41 receives a basic salary of RM10,406 with an allowance of RM1,100.

       An office secretary receives a basic salary of RM3,256 and an allowance of RM810, while a driver gets RM2,939 and an allowance of RM745.

       This brings the cumulative sum to RM48,551 or roughly RM1.7mil per year.

       “All the offices of the three special envoys with a ministerial rank are located at the Perdana Putra Building in Putrajaya with no direct cost,” said Ismail Sabri.

       The special envoys are Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (Middle East), Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing (China) and Datuk Seri Richard Riot Jaem (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan).