As the chief executive of the country, the prime minister position is the most highly sought after political position and correspondingly, popularly believed to be the most well-remunerated.

PM Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to forgo his salary further supports this perception.

But Kini News Lab’s checks on remuneration data for the federal and state governments’ top positions reveal otherwise.

There is also a large gap among the states, with the salary of the chief executive in some states even higher than that of the PM.

The reason is simple - federalism.

As Malaysia is a federation of different states and territories, Parliament and state assemblies have their own jurisdictions and legislative powers, including setting the salary of the federal or state government’s cabinet or state executive council (exco) members.