Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the bonus would be paid tomorrow to ease the burden of civil servants in preparing for next week’s celebrations.

“The bonus payment will involve a total of RM3.6 million which is hoped to be able to assist in preparing for the festive season this time,” he said after attending an assembly with members of the civil service here today.

He also thanked the state civil servants for their cooperation and trust in the new state leadership line-up.

“The state government leadership line-up and I hope that similar cooperation and, in fact better, can be rendered by the state civil servants to ensure that we can continue to be the best state in terms of development and infrastructure,” he said.

When asked on the abolition of toll at the Penang Bridge, Chow said this was under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

He said the pledges in the Pakatan Harapan state manifesto did not include the abolition of the Penang Bridge toll, but added that the federal government was committed to fulfilling its promises.

“I think at the federal level, they have appealed for more time to understand the situation, and the commitment is still there and I believe in due time the commitment will be fulfilled,” he said.