“It is hoped that this would raise the spirits of those in the state civil service to work harder in the new year,” Lim said in a statement today.

The bonus payout would be 50% of the basic salary of civil servants, or a minimum RM700 payout.

The Penang government is also paying civil servants who took no more than four medical leave days this year up to November, a “work attendance incentive bonus” that amounts to a quarter of their salary. This is in addition to the main bonus.

Lim said this year’s bonus payout for the civil service stood at RM4.19 million.

Meanwhile, Lim also announced a bonus for Islamic and private Chinese schools and teachers.

Those who will receive RM300 each are: 1,502 Kafa supervisors and teachers; 225 Islamic primary school teachers; and 185 Islamic secondary school teachers.

Also receiving RM300 are 522 teachers and staff of independent Chinese vernacular schools.

A payout of RM300 would be also extended to 279 tahfiz teachers, guru pondok and Islamic kindergarten teachers.

The total payout for the Islamic and Chinese institutions listed above is RM786,000.