Umno: What about payout for Felda, Felcra settlers?
KUALA LUMPUR: Umno has criticised the Hari Raya Aidilfitri Special Aid for civil servants and government pensioners by Pakatan Harapan, labelling it as discriminatory against government officers of higher rank.
Umno’s Strategic Communications Unit, in a statement yesterday, said a number of civil servants and pensioners were left disappointed by the RM400 and RM200 payout, respectively.
The amount, it said, paled in comparison to the RM500 given out to civil servants of all grades and RM250 for government retirees by the previous administration, which it said was more comprehensive.
“The Raya Special Aid this year is limited to civil servants in Grade 41 and below, thus discriminating against those in a higher grade.
“The selective bonus payout reflects the PH government’s lack of appreciation for staff of higher grades, where they too had contributed energy, time, ideas in ensuring the smooth administration of the government.
“Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng had stated that the economy was on solid and firm footing but the next day, when asked on the bonus payout for Hari Raya for civil servants, changed tack and said the economy was weak, and that the Raya bonus would only be considered for low-earning civil servants.”
“The lower and less comprehensive bonus is a slap to the face of civil servants, as the PH government had also announced that it would review the salary hike planned for this year, as it was a pledge made by Barisan Nasional, not PH,” it said.
According to the statement, over the last nine years, the Barisan Nasional government, under Datuk Seri Najib Razak, had given special attention to correct the pay scale for lowincome civil servants.
The statement said following the Hari Raya Aidilfitri Special Aid payout, Felda and Felcra settlers were eagerly awaiting to see if they too had a chance of getting a Hari Raya payout this year.
The statement said last year, the BN government provided a Raya incentive of RM500 to each Felda settler’s family to help them prepare for Aidilfitri.
The BN government, it said, also gave a token of RM400 to mosque chairmen, RM500 for imam, RM300 for bilal, and RM200 for caretakers, with a total allocation of RM674,400.
The previous government, it said, distributed dividends totalling RM84.18 million to 59,951 Felcra Bhd participants as “duit raya”. They received between RM2,000 and RM8,000 each, depending on the size of their land share.