Anwar announces RM500 Raya aid for civil servants

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim today announced that civil servants will be receiving RM500 aid for Hari Raya Aidilfitri starting this Friday (April 5).

This will be given to civil servants in Grade 56 and below, he said.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister, added that government retirees will receive RM250, including veterans with and without pensions.

“I have discussed with the Treasury.

“I wanted to give it last month, I want to give it before Raya, RM2,000.

“We were wrong, we were too early,” he told the Prime Minister’s Department in his speech this morning.

He was referring to the early incentive payment of RM2,000, as announced in the Budget 2024, given to civil servants on February 24.

On March 24, the New Straits Times reported Anwar as saying that there would be no Aidilfitri bonus for civil servants this year.

However, he hinted that civil servants may receive more benefits such as salary increments after the completion of the Public Service Remuneration System Study review.

Rahmah aid

Meanwhile, Anwar announced that the next phase of Rahmah cash aid (STR) payments will begin on Wednesday (April 3).

“Phase one was paid out in January, RM500, and Insyallah, phase two we will channel out on April 3,” he said.

He said STR payments have been increased to a maximum of RM3,700 this year.

This is due to an allocation of RM10 billion this year, compared to RM8 billion last year, he explained.

Singles will receive RM500 in aid this year, an increase from RM350 last year, he added.

Last year, the initiative benefited nine million recipients or 60 percent of the adult population in Malaysia, he said.

However, a breakdown by Malaysiakini showed that the amount of STR aid for 2024 would be the same as last year.

According to the budget touchpoints released by the Finance Ministry, the RM3,700 amount appears to be achieved when the maximum STR payout of RM2,500 is combined with the RM1,200 Rahmah basic necessities aid (Sara).

The RM2,500 STR payout is for households with five or more children earning RM2,500 per month or less, while the maximum Sara payout is for STR recipients who are categorised as poor or hardcore poor. - Mkini