Don: Do away with elected reps’ pension to reduce govt’s financial burden

KUCHING: The government should consider abolishing pension entitlement for all elected representatives to reduce its financial burden and annual expenditure, said an academician.

Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia’s Faculty of Syariah and Laws associate professor Dr Muzaffar Syah Mallow opined that there was no need for politicians to be given any salary, allowance or pension if they truly cared for the country and its people.

“Politicians always claim that they love the country and the people. They always tell us that they are willing to do anything including sacrificing everything for the sake of the country and the people.

“Well, the best way for them to prove their deep devotion to the country and the people which they cherish so much is by serving the country and its people for free,” he said in a statement yesterday.

Muzaffar was responding to a recent statement by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Dr Zaliha Mustafa who said that the country’s pension expenditures amounted to RM32.01 billion in 2023 and are expected to reach RM46.36 billion by 2030.

Adding on, he said the funds set aside for the salary, allowances and pension of elected representatives could be better spent on improving schools, higher learning institutions and hospitals which need financial assistance.

He said with the appointment of non-pensionable permanent employment in the civil service in the near future, the new intake of civil servants will no longer enjoy a pension along with all the benefits attached to it like their predecessors.

“Instead, newly-recruited civil servants will be required to contribute to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and subject themselves to all the requirements under the EPF scheme like those serving the private sector.”

Muzaffar said while EPF members have their monthly salaries deducted and can withdraw their retirement savings upon reaching the age of 60, public pension scheme takers are not required to make any contributions and will receive a monthly pension at a percentage of their last drawn salary upon retirement.

As such, he said the public pension scheme is deemed a coveted benefit of being a government servant that comes with other perks as well.

“If the government wants to abolish the pension scheme for newly-recruited civil servants, it needs to examine and revise existing laws as pension is a right protected under Article 147 of the Federal Constitution and guaranteed under the Pensions Act 1980,” he said.