Good news for civil servants in 2018 Budget

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said several good news and improvements for civil servants will be announced in the 2018 Budget to be tabled on October 23.

"I understand that many are waiting for certain announcements," said Najib who is also the Finance Minister at the 15th Civil Service Premier Message Gathering (MAPPA), here today.

Najib's message was greeted with loud applause from the more than 5,000 civil servants who attended the annual event at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC).

At the event, Najib said for the past several decades the government had highly appreciated and expressed its gratitude to the civil servants who had always been together with the government administration, working together and supporting each other.

He said that the government, especially during the past eight years, had implemented various initiatives and improvements for the benefits and welfare of the civil servants.

These included raising the salaries of civil servants by between seven to 13 per cent in 2012, increasing the minimum pension from RM720 to RM820 for those serving for 25 years or more in 2012, fixing the minimum pay from RM832 to RM1,200 per month beginning July 2016 and giving an annual salary movement of three per cent annually for officers who had reached the maximum salary, he said.

Besides improvements in terms of salary and service structures, the government had also implemented improvements in terms of the welfare of civil servants, Najib said.

They included raising the Cost of Living Allowance (COLA) by RM50 per month in 2012 for civil servants residing in suburban areas and increasing the Housing Allowance to RM300 per month in 2015, he said.

All the facilities and allowances enjoyed by the civil servants were due to the strong cooperation between the government and the civil service which is efficient,"he said.

"These will then create a strong symbiosis in speeding up or leapfrogging Malaysia to be listed among the 20 most developed countries in the world by the year 2050,"Najib added.

-- BERNAMA