The government has refuted claims that ending the pension scheme for new civil servant recruits would harm the Malay community, who make up the majority of government employees. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated that the proposal to abolish the pension scheme has been under consideration for a long time, in order to prevent the country from going bankrupt in the future.
Anwar mentioned that the idea has been in discussion since the 1990s but has not been put into action due to lack of political will. He also criticized the opposition for suggesting that eliminating pensions would negatively impact the Malays, labeling it as a DAP proposal without providing concrete evidence, and instead using religious sentiment as a tactic. Anwar made these remarks at the closing of the Perak Unity Government convention on Sunday (Jan 28), where Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, 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 were also present.
Furthermore, Anwar pointed out that several developed countries have already done away with the pension system for civil servants. He added that even politicians would be affected if the non-pensionable scheme was implemented for new civil servants, including those running as candidates in future elections.
The government assured that the proposal to place new hires on a non-pensionable scheme would not impact the pension status of existing civil servants. Anwar also reaffirmed the government’s commitment to increasing the remuneration rate for civil servants according to its capabilities.
“For 12 years, civil servants have not received any salary adjustments, and there has been no commitment to improve their pay rate. Despite financial constraints, we have decided that this issue cannot be delayed,” Anwar said, as reported by Bernama.
