AMPANG – Government politicians receiving multiple pensions have a moral responsibility to only opt for one pension scheme, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
This would help the country’s fiscal position, he said today.
But while it would be ideal to make elected representatives give up multiple pensions, it is up to them to decide if they should do so.
“Those who are getting salaries for being a minister, menteri besar, or (a post in) a government department (are getting) three, four pensions.
“Looking at the situation, it would be their moral responsibility to reject other pensions and only choose one. But this is up to them,” Anwar told reporters after attending the Zoo Negara 60th anniversary celebration, here, today.
For the record, Anwar’s cabinet ministers had previously agreed to a 20% salary cut until the nation’s economy recovered.
Anwar himself has declined his salary as prime minister and finance minister.
Today, Anwar reiterated that changes to the public service remuneration scheme will only be applied to incoming civil servants. This is because previous and current government employees will still be bound by existing laws on civil service pensions.
“The federal constitution does not allow us to cancel whatever has already been agreed upon,” he said.
His remarks today follow statements of concern from civil service unions and a group representing former elected representatives over news of an upcoming non-pensionable scheme of employment for new civil servants who will instead build retirement savings with the Employees Provident Fund.
Yesterday, Anwar said that any decision made following the review of the public service remuneration scheme will also apply to politicians and political appointees in the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had also said the new recruitment policy, currently being fine-tuned, would see non-pensionable permanent employment for new civil servants.
“They will contribute to the Employees Provident Fund, and the government will provide contributions just like private sector employees,” Zahid said.
He added that government pension payments would reach RM120 billion by 2040 if nothing was done.
On January 15, the Public Service Department issued a circular that incoming civil servants will be hired on contract starting February 1, as part of larger measures to address the increasing pensions bill.
The move to take new civil servants on contract is also an interim one pending a new policy on the appointment and remuneration of civil servants, which will involve amendments to relevant laws.
The Congress of Employees’ Unions in the Public and Civil Services has objected to removing pensions for future civil servants, calling for elected representatives’ pensions to be reviewed first.
The Council of Former Elected Representatives, meanwhile, has said former lawmakers deserve their pensions for the service rendered to the country.
Putrajaya is currently conducting a comprehensive review of salary increments and allowances for the public sector, called the Public Service Compensation System (SSPA).
An interim report on the SSPA by the Public Service Department was submitted to the prime minister recently. The review is to be completed by the end of this year, before the SSPA is implemented in 2025.
The last comprehensive review of public sector salaries and allowances was more than a decade ago, in 2012. – January 27, 2024
