Proposal to abolish pension for new civil servants not to victimise Malays, says PM

THE GOVERNMENT has dismissed allegations that the proposal to abolish the pension scheme for new intakes of civil servants would victimise the Malays, who form the majority in government service.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the proposal had been under study for a long time as there is a need for a new service scheme to avoid the risk of the country going bankrupt and future generations facing problems.

"In fact, it has been studied for many years, if I'm not mistaken since the 90s, but there is no political will to implement it.

"The opposition kept claiming that abolishing pension will victimise the Malays, that this is a DAP proposal but has not presented facts and instead played on religious sentiment,” he said when closing the Perak Unity Government convention in Ipoh today.

Also present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, Perak Menteri Besar and state BN chairman Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad, Perak Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Datuk Seri Mujahid Yusof and DAP vice-chairman Nga Kor Ming. 

Anwar, who is also PH chairman, said some developed countries had already abolished the pension system for civil servants.

He said politicians should accept the fact that they would also be affected if the non-pensionable scheme is implemented for new civil servants.

This would include those who would be fielded as candidates in future elections, he said.

"It is up to them if they do not want to contest in future general elections because there will be no more pension,” he said.

The government has said that the proposal to place new hires on a non-pensionable scheme would not affect the pension status of existing civil servants.

'Opposition MPs giving up on parties'

On another matter, Anwar shared his belief that more opposition MPs will support the Unity Government, reasoning that they are losing confidence in their parties over false promises of a change in government.

He said that the MPs had been told there would be a change of government through backdoor manoeuvres, but obviously it did not happen, and the opposition was just playing on negative sentiments, including racial issues.

"They were given hope; even though I said this roof is not made of thatch but concrete, they moved from Dubai to London, and they forgot that concrete roofs are much thicker.

"And when hope is eroded, the people, the MPs promised the so-called changes will leave their parties one by one," he said.

Touching on recent investigations by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on politically related individuals, Anwar reiterated that he has never interfered in the affairs of enforcement agencies investigating or confiscating the assets of anyone.

He said that the government's directive is comprehensive, requiring relevant agencies to investigate anyone found amassing wealth illegally.

"I do not interfere in such matters; members of the Cabinet, the Deputy Prime Ministers (DPMs) know, we do not interfere in investigating 'Person A' or 'Person B' or seizing the assets of 'Person A' or 'Person B.'

 "Our directive is comprehensive; anyone detected amassing wealth illegally, grabbing billions in wealth, previously and now, it is the responsibility of enforcement agencies to act decisively and boldly, and we will defend them," he said. – Bernama, January 28, 2024