He said the bonus could not be backdated or paid this year.
“This bonus was approved in Budget 2015. So, going by financial regulations, it should be paid after Jan 1, 2015,” he told reporters at his office here.
Ali was asked to comment on the request by Cuepacs, the umbrella union for civil servants, on Monday that the government pay the bonus to civil servants on Dec 15 this year rather than in January next year.
Cuepacs president Azih Musa had said that this would ease the financial burden of parents getting their children prepared to attend school in the new session in January.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, when tabling Budget 2015 in the Dewan Rakyat last Friday, announced a bonus of a half-month salary or a minimum of RM500 for the estimated 1.5 million civil servants.
He also announced a special assistance of RM250 for government pensioners.
— BERNAMA
