KUALA LUMPUR – The Defence Ministry (Mindef) is always committed to looking after the welfare of army veterans, its minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said today.
He cited as an example that an internal study at the ministerial level to enable the implementation of an allowance for Pingat Jasa Malaysia (PJM) recipients was completed recently.
Hishammuddin said Mindef had also forwarded to the Finance Ministry (MoF) a proposal to approve an increase in Bantuan Sara Hidup financial aid to non-pensionable army veterans in the B40 income group, from RM300 a month to RM400.
Mindef hoped that the matter would be given consideration from the MoF, he said in a statement here today.
He said the proposal to increase the armed forces veteran allowance was made taking into account the increase in the cost of living and the need to cover daily expenses.
“This means that among the requests submitted by armed forces veterans, we have already settled two, and another two are still being studied at the ministerial level. It will not stop here.
“Mindef is always working hard to ensure the welfare of our army veterans the best that we can. New developments and the outcome of our efforts will be announced from time to time,” he said.
Last July, Hishammuddin announced two improvements – thereby fulfilling two of the five main wishes of army veterans – namely improvements involving derivative pension and an advisory panel to consider applications from ex-servicemen to be recognised as armed forces veterans. Both have now been implemented.
However, he said the requests by army veterans do not only involve planning at the ministerial level but also matters of finance and public administration that require the consideration of the MoF and the Public Service Department (PSD).
“I will continue to communicate with the MoF and the PSD director-general from time to time to ensure that all our hopes are achieved,” he said.
Hishammuddin also reminded veterans who have not registered with Mindef’s Veteran Affairs Department to do so immediately so that they can benefit from all the initiatives and assistance provided. – Bernama, September 9, 2022
