People’s National Congress (PNC) parliamentary group leader, MP Ibrahim Falah, has said the best approach to reducing MPs' salaries is to implement changes at the start of a new parliamentary term.
His comments follow a petition calling reducing MPs' salaries and removing allowances provided to former members.
In a post on X, Falah stated that reducing MPs' salaries was not a bad idea but noted that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which held a supermajority in the 19th Parliament, had previously passed a bill to increase MPs' salaries to MVR 100,000.
He added that President Dr Mohamed Muizzu had opposed the change at the time.
“In my opinion, it is better to make changes to MPs’ salaries at the end of a parliamentary session and the election of a new term,” MP Falah said.
He argued that salary reductions should align with a new parliament term, as newly elected MPs often take on significant debt to finance their election campaigns. Cutting salaries mid-term, he said, would leave MPs struggling to repay these debts.
Falah suggested that if the salary for the next term were set at MVR 5,000 per MP, candidates willing to accept that amount would contest the elections with no complaints about reduced pay.
He also proposed that the petition should extend beyond MPs' salaries to include allowances for former presidents and salaries of judges.
The petition, hosted on change.org, states that high salaries, committee allowances and premium health insurance for MPs are an unnecessary financial burden at a time when the economy is struggling.
Currently, MPs receive a monthly salary of MVR 62,500, plus a committee allowance of MVR 20,000, bringing their total monthly earnings to MVR 82,500.
Under the Privileges and Powers of Parliament Act, former MPs have been entitled to a service allowance since June 2014. The Act grants financial allowances to former members once they reach the age of 55. Those who have served one term receive 30 percent of their salary, while those who have served two terms receive 45 percent.
According to figures from the Pension Office, MVR 33.8 million has been spent on allowances for former MPs over the past decade, including MVR 6.4 million last year alone.
Petition calls for MPs' salaries and allowances to be reduced
The Edition