Civil servants to get bonus

Civil servants to get bonus

JAKARTA: The government has decided to provide a one-month
salary bonus for civil servants in June, the beginning of the new
school year.

"The bonus has been approved by the House of Representatives
and aims at helping civil servants pay for their children's
education in the new school year," Minister of Finance Boediono
said on Wednesday.

The country has around 3.5 million civil servants.

The minister brushed aside suggestions that the bonus was
timed to coincide with the presidential election, in which
incumbent President Megawati Soekarnoputri was seeking a full
five-year mandate.

"We are paying it in June because it coincides with the
beginning of the new school year, not the elections," the
minister emphasized.

Indonesia will hold its first-ever direct presidential
election on July 5.

Parties or coalitions garnering 3 percent of seats in the
House of Representatives or 5 percent of the total vote in the
April 5 legislative election will be allowed to participate in
the presidential election. --Antara