KUALA LUMPUR: The Prihatin Supplementary Initiative Package (Kita Prihatin) does not only benefit civil servants but their spouses too, who have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs) president Adnan Mat told the New Straits Times the Kita Prihatin initiatives could ease the financial burden to a certain extent, especially of civil servants whose spouses had lost their jobs in the private sector or had their pay cut.
He said the spouses of many civil servants were housewives who ran small businesses to earn an extra income for household expenses.
"Also, nearly half of the civil servants are those categorised as B40, hence they are entitled to Bantuan Prihatin Nasional too," he said in a statement yesterday.
Adnan said the Kita Prihatin initiatives had reached out not only to the civil servants.
"The assistance provided by the government, to some extent, provides relief to a majority of citizens who have been impacted adversely by the pandemic."
Cuepacs regarded the stimulus package as a timely intervention from the government to help the people get back on their feet, he said.
On this note, he urged civil servants to play a key role as facilitators on behalf of the government to reach out to the people who could use the Kita Prihatin intiatives to ride out the Covid-19 storm.
"It must be acknowledged that the effectiveness of the delivery system, as well as good governance in the civil service, will be the catalyst for the country's success in coming out of the economic crisis.
"Without such indicators, it will be difficult for the government's programmes and efforts to achieve their targets.
"At the same time, the people must cooperate, too, for the government policies and programmes to work, especially to revive the economy."
With the 2021 Budget scheduled to be tabled later this year, Cuepacs hoped that the government would pay attention to the agenda to empower the public service, as well as the welfare of civil servants who had given their time and commitment during the pandemic.
"Cuepacs hopes that the government will execute all efforts to strengthen and improve the civil servants' welfare. We do not want to dampen the civil servants' morale if the initiatives announced (earlier) are withdrawn."
The RM10 billion Kita Prihatin initiatives comprise RM7 billion for Bantuan Prihatin Nasional 2.0, RM2.4 billion for the Wage Subsidy Programme 2.0 and RM600 million for Prihatin Special Grant, to help those in need including unmarried individuals, the B40 income group, local workers and micro-traders.