RM500 special payment for civil servants before Dec 25 – Guan Eng

PUTRAJAYA: The RM500 special payment for civil servants on Grade 54 and below proposed in Budget 2019 will be paid before Dec 25, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday.

“This is the first time that the bonus will be paid in the same year. Previously, the special payment was given in the following year. There is no provision in Budget 2018. So, we will look for the source (of the funds).

“We hope that through the implementation of the Sales and Service Tax (SST), there will be a little (revenue) to accommodate the bonus this year,” he said to reporters here.

Earlier, Lim attended a gettogether of “Customs Staff with the Finance Minister' in conjunction with Deepavali 2018 at the Finance Ministry complex here.

When tabling Budget 2019 in Parliament on Nov 2, Lim announced the RM500 special payment in recognition of the efforts and dedication of civil servants in discharging their duties.

He had also announced a RM250 special payment for government pensioners. The special payments for the civil servants and pensioners will incur an expenditure of RM1 billion.

Asked to comment on the rumour of an impending Cabinet reshuffle, Lim said: “I have not heard anything at all.”

A news portal had reported that Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will reshuffle the Cabinet next month because of unhappiness over the performance of several Bersatu ministers. The portal claimed that Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik and Rural Development Minister Datuk Seri Rina Harun could be among those who will be dropped.

Lim dismissed an allegation that the Budget 2019 allocation for Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) was reduced by half from 2018 and that this was in relation to the government intention to ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

“That's not true. The allocation for Mara was not slashed by half. It is still there and continues to be managed by two to three ministries. If you notice a reduced allocation for Mara, it is because its functions have been moved to other ministries,” he said.

On Monday, Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin, when speaking during the debate on the Supply Bill 2019 in the Dewan Rakyat, said the allocation for Mara has been reduced by over 50 per cent, from RM3.5 billion in 2018 to only RM1.3 billion in 2019.