KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 ― Civil servants Grade 56 and below, including those appointed under contract, will receive an interim payment of RM2,000, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said the payment will be made while the government is reviewing the Public Service Remuneration System (SSPA), the salary and allowance scheme for civil servants which was last conducted in 2012.

"The SSPA review will examine the needs of all service schemes and is expected to be completed by the end of next year,” he said when tabling the Malaysia Madani Budget 2024 in the Dewan Rakyat today.

Anwar, who is also the finance minister said RM1,000 will also be given to those in the Jawatan Utama Sektor Awam (Jusa) grade involving all parties including the police force, fire department, military, armed forces and all uniformed personnel.

He said all government pensioners including veterans with and without pensions will receive a one-off payment of RM1,000, adding that this interim payment will be made to the civil servants at the end of February next year to ease the burden of preparing for their children’s schooling and for the preparations ahead of Ramadan and Syawal.

Anwar stated that the government has agreed to improve the coverage of the Ex-Gratia Work Disaster Scheme for civil servants and increase the wage ceiling from RM4,000 to RM6,000 in line with the amendments to the Social Security Organisation Scheme for the private sector.

He said this allows the compensation rate for the Ex-Gratia Work Disaster Scheme to increase up to 50 per cent or approximately RM1.6 million.

"In other words, civil servants or their beneficiaries will receive higher compensation claims in the event of accidents that occur while on duty,” he said.

He said the government has also agreed to expand the assistance for attire for attending official events to include Malaysian batik for all eligible civil servants as a measure to encourage the production of high-quality batik.

The second budget under the unity government led by Anwar was tabled before Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul and broadcast live on local television channels, social media platforms as well and the Parliament’s YouTube channel. ― Bernama