Thousands of ex-civil servants to descend on Putrajaya to protest govt’s refusal to comply court order on pensions

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The government’s refusal to comply with a court order to pay retired government servants their pensions based on final salaries, as well as its differential treatment in paying retired judges, has prompted a group of government pensioners to mobilise thousands affected by a decade-old amendment in pension laws.

They hope to gather about 10,000 people for a rally in Putrajaya on April 19,to call on the government to implement last month’s High Court ruling that they have the right to receive pension adjustment payments based on their final salaries, as outlined in a 2016 circular from the Public Services Department.

The group’s spokesman, Rafique Ahmad Nordin, said more than 1,000 government pensioners have registered to attend the rally in the last 10 days, adding that plans are underway to organise themselves once they reach 5,000 people.

Rafique said they are determined to hold the rally and will not cancel it even if Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim agrees to meet them.

This is because they would not entertain verbal promises without a written commitment, he added.

“Talk is cheap. At least there should be a black and white document that the government will do something or he (Anwar) himself should issue an official statement on the matter,” he added.

Rafique said the affected pensioners had already written to request a meeting with the prime minister but had yet to receive a response.

It would be the first time that government pensioners have gathered in large numbers in Putrajaya to express their opposition to an incumbent government.

Rafique (third, right) with retired civil servants at the Kuala Lumpur High Court last month to show solidarity with government retiree Aminah Ahmad in her suit last month.

Their discontent follows the government’s move on Jan 23 to appeal against the High Court’s decision.

Rafique said the pensioners were calling on the government to revert to the previous formula as stipulated in the Pensions Adjustment Act 1980 (PAA 1980) before amendments were made to Sections 3 and 7 of the Act in 2013.

Under the old system, a pensioner’s pension is adjusted based on the current salary of civil servants in that grade.

Under the 2013 amendments, pensions are based on a flat rate of 2% annual increase.

“Basically, we want the government to go back to the previous formula,” Rafique told MalaysiaNow.

“In 2013, all these laws were cast aside and replaced with a 2% annual increment since 2013,” he said.

In January last year, Aminah Ahmad, a former staff of the foreign ministry, filed a judicial review application on behalf of herself and 56 other government pensioners.

She sought an injunction to force the government to accelerate pension adjustments to the entitlement amount based on the formula contained in Sections 3 and 6 of PAA 1980 before they were amended.

Aminah also sought an order compelling the government to pay the arrears of pension within 14 days and a declaration that non-payment is in breach of the Federal Constitution.

The lawsuit was filed after the Federal Court ruled in June 2023 that the amendments to PAA were void.

The apex court had also declared that the 2013 amendments were unfavourable to pensioners and violated Article 147 of the Federal Constitution.

Meanwhile, Rafique said there appeared to be a double standard when only retired judges were paid their pension arrears.

“Not only was the correct amount paid, but they (retired judges) also received arrears from 2015 amounting to RM200,000.

“This is unfair,” said Rafique, who is a retired Royal Malaysian Navy officer.

In January 2022, 35 retired judges, including several senior judges, sued the government for failing to adequately increase the pensions and benefits they had received since 2015.

Among other things, they sought a declaration that they were entitled to an annual increase of more than 2% in their pensions and other benefits from July 1, 2015.

Rafique said pensioners were disappointed in the director-general of the Public Services Department for denying that there had been a salary increase, which in turn would affect the pension adjustment.

“If the director general claims that there was no salary increase, he could be held in contempt of court because the court has ruled that the payment must be made,” he said.

“The court has confirmed that there was indeed an increase in 2016,” he added.

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