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