Member of Parliament (MP) for Muar, Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman yesterday took to his official social media accounts to call out the federal government’s decision to no longer provide pensions to new civil servants.
Furthermore, Syed Saddiq also told the government to “walk the talk” and abolish the exorbitant pensions received by politicians first, including for political appointments, elected representatives and ministers.
However, as it turns out, the government has, in fact, abolished pensions for political appointments in the government, as they are also considered civil servants.
In his video addressing the matter, the Muar MP claimed that ministers get up to 3 pensions at the federal and state levels on top of hundreds of thousands of ringgit allowances and government-linked companies (GLC) positions but still have their pensions retained.
Syed Saddiq further asserted that civil servants with RM1,500 salary, living in poor living quarters and working for decades are having their pensions denied.
He then called for the government to “walk the talk” and abolish pensions for politicians and ministers first. Moreover, Syed Saddiq called for the government to raise the salaries of civil servants which have not been reviewed since 2013.
You can watch the full video here:
Kerajaan umum hentikan pencen penjawat awam.
Tapi Ahli Politik masih dapat pencen bertingkat-tingkat
Adil atau tidak?
Apa pandangan anda? pic.twitter.com/PcpCsxeHKa
— Syed Saddiq (@SyedSaddiq) January 25, 2024
Based on the Muar MP’s statement, there seems to be some confusion on his part as to what the government’s recent move entailed.
Firstly, only newly appointed civil servants starting 1 February 2024 won’t receive pensions, not civil servants who are currently serving. In other words, civil servants who, as Syed Saddiq put it, “working day and night, residing in poor quarters”, will still be entitled to pensions.
Besides that, the government did actually “walk the talk” as the move also affects politicians appointed to serve in the government starting 1 February.
This was clarified by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when he spoke to the media earlier today. As shared by @jasonyew on X, Anwar said that any decisions made regarding civil servants will also be applied to politicians appointed to the government.
Anwar asserted,
“In principle, I agree that any decisions made for the civil service also applies to political appointments, but it will be finalised after the study has been done and the Cabinet’s approval,”
You can watch the video here:
“Apa saja keputusan yang dibuat untuk perkhidmatan awam terpakai bagi jawatan lantikan politik” – PM @anwaribrahim pic.twitter.com/fcBV5v4GrK
— Jason Yew (@jasonyew) January 26, 2024
So, what do you guys think of the whole situation? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.
Also read: Khairy Jamaluddin: Politicians & Civil Servants’ Pension Should Be Abolished
