Civil servants, pensioners grateful for Aidilfitri special assistance

The special Aidilfitri 2020 assistance of RM500 to federal civil servants and RM250 to government pensioners is considered timely, especially amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The civil servants and pensioners who were contacted expressed their gratitude for the aid and had planned to use it in the best possible manner.

A civil servant in Kuantan, Mohd Alhamadi Abu Bakar, 53, said he would use the money to buy food supplies for his family in Permatang Badak, Kuantan.

"The aid will definitely help in the Aidilfitri preparation for our family of six... I believe our Aidilfitri celebration would still be lively although we would celebrate it in moderately as we are still wary of the COVID-19 outbreak," he told Bernama here yesterday.

Meanwhile, a Kuantan pensioner, Abd Razak Hassan, 57, said the RM250 aid he received would be used in the Aidilfitri preparation, mainly for purchasing food items to be served on Hari Raya.

"My family-of-four will celebrate Hari Raya at Peramu, Kuantan, and this aid could ease the burden on my wife, and one of my children, who has helped to cover our expenses," he said.

Meanwhile, Fairuz Saidi, 34, a civil servant in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, planned to use the special aid to settle utility bill as she did not see the need to splurge on Aidilfitri this year.

"The electricity bill has increased since the work-from-home routine following the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) in March," she said while expressing her gratitude for the aid.

Another civil servant, Zuraidah Ahmad, 40, is also grateful that the special aid could to a certain extent ease the burden of preparing for Hari Raya, although the merriment of Shawal this year would be different from previously.

"Nevertheless, the preparation for the celebration must proceed because I have a large family. Hence, this aid is very helpful," she said, adding that she will use the special aid to buy new pairs of clothes for her nieces and nephews.

Meanwhile, Sabah Small and Medium Enterprises Association (SME) president Foo Ngee Kee hoped that the civil servants would spend the special aid by purchasing goods from local entrepreneurs to help revive their businesses affected by the MCO.

Earlier yesterday, Public Service Department director-general Datuk Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman, in a circular, said federal civil servants of Grade 56 and below, as well as pensioners, would receive the aid by May 20.

-- BERNAMA