Welfare of armed forces veterans remains priority amid pension dispute

New Straits Times

3 days ago

KUALA LUMPUR: Putrajaya remains committed to safeguarding the welfare of armed forces veterans who retired before Jan 1, 2013, despite the Court of Appeal's ruling on pension adjustments.
Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari said while the case is currently before the courts, the ministry will continue to implement measures to assist both pensionable and non-pensionable veterans.
"At the government level, once a matter has been brought to court, whether it involves the ministry or the government, we will abide by any decision made by the court.
"While the case is still in court, we continue to consider all aspects of the welfare of our defence personnel," he said in Dewan Rakyat, today.
Adly said this included extending cost-of-living aid to non-pensionable veterans, who under current regulations are not entitled to such allowances apart from their savings in the Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT)
"Although the issue of cost-of-living aid for pensionable personnel is not being deliberated in court, we decided to also extend this aid to non-pensionable personnel.
"Non-pensionable veterans would normally receive nothing apart from their savings in LTAT.
"However, out of goodwill, under the Madani government led by the Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) and the Defence Minister (Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin), we provide them with a monthly cost-of-living allowance of RM500," he said.
He said this in response to Datuk Khlir Mohd Nor (PN-Ketereh) who enquired why the ministry did not discuss the issue of pension adjustments for armed forces veterans who retired before January 2013 in the Malaysian Armed Forces Council (MAT).
Adly said the ministry also provides cost-of-living aid to over 6,000 pensionable veterans, in addition to assistance for non-pensionable personnel.
This includes an extra RM300 monthly for those whose pensions fall below the poverty line of RM1,198, and further support for veterans with disabled family members or school-going dependents.
"Therefore, our cost-of-living assistance is not limited to non-pensionable personnel as pensionable veterans are also taken into account and we know that the most important priority is ensuring the welfare of our veterans and their families.," he said.
In June this year, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeal by the government and three others to overturn a High Court ruling that had previously favoured 50 retired armed forces personnel in a pension adjustment dispute.
On Feb 5 last year, the High Court ruled that all military personnel who retired before Jan 1, 2013, are entitled to have their pensions adjusted to the rates and methods applied to the retirees who retired after Jan 1, 2013.
The 50 military personnel of various ranks filed an originating summons in the High Court on Nov 17, 2022, seeking a declaration that the government had violated the provisions in Federal Constitution read together with Section 187 of the MAF Act 1972 for their respective failures to implement new pension adjustments for the MAF retirees who retired before Jan 1, 2013.
Lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla who represented the retired personnel said he would study the court's grounds of judgment before deciding whether to bring the matter up to the Federal Court.