KUALA LUMPUR: The figure of RM1.7 billion in pension arrears for 531,976 pensioners should not be deemed as a threat or create a threat to any party, including the court, said Public Service Director-General (KPPA) Tan Sri Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.
He said the amount is based on a rough calculation based on available data and cross-referencing with the service records of the pensioners concerned.
This was stated in reply to an affidavit by pensioner Aminah Ahmad’s objection to the government and the KPPA’s stay application for the Jan 16 decision requiring them to pay former civil servants the pensions entitled to them based on their final salaries according to the 2016 Public Service Department (PSD) circular, effective from January 2022 and to be paid within three months from the judgment date.
Aminah and other pensioners say the stay should not be allowed, as the government has not shown that there are no funds available to settle its payment obligations, to which Wan Ahmad Dahlan said the government has never at any time stated that it does not have the financial ability to pay the sum.
“Any public fund has to be managed carefully and in an orderly manner to ensure that any planning that has been made is not affected to protect the interests of the government,“ he said.
According to Wan Ahmad Dahlan, public funds have their own role and are earmarked for certain purposes the previous year (according to the budget), like the development of the country, pension coordination, investment and savings.
“The respondents (Malaysian government and KPPA) are always concerned about the welfare of pensioners, but it has to be balanced with the interests of the country,“ he said.
Meanwhile, Aminah, in her affidavit objecting to the stay application (by the government and KPPA), said the stay should not be allowed, as the government has not shown that there are no funds available to settle its payment obligations.
She said the amount of RM1.7 billion was only raised as a threat without actual calculation made to instil fear in the court.
In today’s proceedings, High Court Judge Amarjeet Singh adjourned the hearing of the stay application, which was initially set for today, to March 4 after Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly informed that Aminah had just filed a reply this morning and it was confirmed by her lawyer, Datuk Dr Baljit Singh Sidhu.
Aminah who retired as a civil servant with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, filed the judicial review application on Jan 12, 2023, in her capacity and on behalf of 56 retired members of the public service.
She was seeking a mandamus order to compel the respondents to expedite the pension adjustments to the qualifying amount following the formula contained in Sections 3 and 6 of the Pensions Adjustment Act 1980 (PAA 1980) before amendments were made under Sections 3 and 7 of the Pensions Adjustment Act (Amendment) 2013 (PAA 2013).
Aminah also sought an order for the respondents to pay the pension arrears within 14 days, in addition to a declaratory order stating that the failure to pay violates the Federal Constitution.
Under the old scheme, the retiree’s pension is revised based on the prevailing salary of incumbent civil servants in that grade. However, the 2013 amendment was introduced based on a flat rate of two per cent annual increment.
