The Selangor government has trumped BN’s August civil service bonus by handing out its own Hari Raya half-month bonus for state civil servants plus an additional RM200 savings top up.

Beating Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s announcement today of a federal bonus to be paid on August 9, Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim also announced its state bonus to be disbursed next week.

In what appears to be an annual competition between the ruling party and the Pakatan Rakyat state governments, Khalid today announced a half-month bonus or a minimum RM500 bonus to aid expenses for Hari Raya preparations.

NONE “The Selangor government has also decided to give an additional bonus in the form of Simpanan Selangorku as much as RM200 to each civil servant,” said the menteri besar in a statement today.

He said both bonuses will be credited into the civil servants’ bank accounts by next week.

Khalid added that the state has set aside RM20 million for the bonuses this year.

“The state government hops the bonus will ease the burden of civil servants in making preparations for Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“At the same time, we also want to encourage civil servants to save for the future,” he said.

Najib meanwhile announced his half-month bonus , with a minimum payment of RM500, for civil servants and a special payment of RM500 for government pensioners, as a show of government's appreciation to the civil servants.

The prime minister said the roughly RM2.2 billion in payouts was a show of the government’s “financial capability and fiscal position”.

Penang ups stakes

Meanwhile, the Penang government is not getting left out of the contest.

According to Chinese daily Kwong Wah Yit Poh , Penang’s 3,758 civil servants will also receive a half-month festive bonus or a minimum or RM600.

The state’s 1,401 religious affairs officers will also enjoy RM300 bonus.

According to the report, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the bonuses amount to about RM4 million, excluding that for the two local councils under the state government.

He said the bonus will be handed out to all civil servants on August 9.