Bonus payments to civil servants will depend on the country's economic situation, Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah said.

Bonus was not included in the 2011 Budget, tabled on Friday, due to financial constraints, he added.

husni eon bank function 120310 ahmad husni "We don't want a deficit in the operational cost. But we did include a RM500 in special payment to the civil servants, making it RM1,000 altogether this year.

"The government had paid civil servants RM500 during the Aidilfitri ," Ahmad Husni told a news conference after attending the Tambun Barisan Nasional mobile service programme in Ipoh today.

Ahmad Husni, who is Tambun member of Parliament, said if the government was to pay bonus to its 1.2 million civil servants, it would incur an expenditure of RM3.1 billion.

The amount would impact the government's effort to bring down the budget deficit to below 5.6 percent, he said.

- Bernama