Army vets want Najib to narrow pensions gap

The Malaysian Armed Forces Veterans Association (PVATM) has urged Putrajaya to narrow the pensions gap between long-retired and newly-retired armed forces personnel in Budget 2018.

According to PVATM president Mohd Anwar Mohd Nor, there are disparities in pensions received by veterans of same rank who retired at different times, which can be as high as 100 percent.

"Sergeants who retired before 1993, from 1994 to 2004, and after 2004, received monthly pensions of RM1,300, RM1,500 and RM 2,400 respectively," he told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Mohd Anwar also claimed that personnel with the rank of major who retired from service before 1993 receive a pension of RM1,800 a month, as opposed to newly-retired personnel of the same rank, who receive RM3,800 monthly.

Despite the government imposing a flat two percent annual increase in pensions from 2013, he said, the hike only served to widen the gap.

As such, Mohd Anwar urged Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is scheduled to table the Budget at the end of the month, to increase veterans’ pensions in line with their retirement dates.

"We propose a 10 percent increment of pensions for those who retired before 1993, and an eight percent increment for those retired between 1994 and 2004. While for those who retired after 2004, we propose a two percent hike," said the senator.

Earlier this month, Najib promised “good news” for civil servants in the upcoming budget announcement, which is widely expected to be a pay hike.

Meanwhile, PVATM secretary-general Tajul Ariffin Chu Johari called upon the government to review veterans’ pensions simultaneous with a revision of wages.

"Only this will stop the pension gaps from widening," he said.

As of today, about 113,000 out of some 300,000 retired veterans are entitled to pensions, with the rest leaving the service before the minimum 21-year period.

Mohd Anwar also urged Najib to extend the duration of derivative pensions, meant for dependents of fallen veterans, from the existing 20 years to 50.

He added that although PVATM had been petitioning the government for an extension since 2015, he understood their inability to grant it due to financial constraints.

When asked if veterans would swing to the opposition in the coming general election if their calls are not heeded, he declined to give a direct comment.

"That depends on their own wisdom. In fact, the government has given more than that (pensions) to veterans," he said, adding that the majority of veterans had previously shown support for the ruling coalition.- Mkini