Malaysia's civil servants, govt pensioners get special cash payments

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said in October that the payouts are a "token of appreciation" for them, but it is generally seen by political pundits as sweeteners ahead of the national polls. PHOTO: REUTERS

PETALING JAYA (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Malaysia's civil servants and government pensioners will receive onMonday (Jan 8) a special cash payment that was promised in October last year in the Budget 2018 presentation.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak tweeted: "God willing, the first special payment of RM1,000 for civil servants and RM500 for pensioners as announced in #Budget2018 will be paid on January 8. Hopefully they will benefit from it."

PM Najib had said in Ooctober that the payouts are a "token of appreciation" for them, but it is generally seen by political pundits as sweeteners ahead of the national polls that is expected to be held within months.

The 1.6 million civil servants will receive another RM500 just before the Muslim festival of Hari Raya Puasa, which falls on June 15.

Each government retiree will get RM250 for Hari Raya. There is no ready figure on the number of civil service pensioners.

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