Cabinet to discuss abolishing politicians' pensions, says Anwar
Published on: Friday, February 02, 2024
By: Bernama
.jpg "Cabinet to discuss abolishing politicians' pensions, says Anwar")
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said if civil servants do not receive pensions, then politicians should not either. (Bernama pic)
REMBAU: The proposal to abolish pensions for politicians will first be discussed by the Cabinet and then brought to Parliament, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said that as a moral responsibility, the matter needs to be tabled and fully explained because it would be difficult to rationalise if politicians were excluded from pension reform.
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“Some people have asked about politicians and whether the system is different. It is reasonable if we review (the matter) together.
“If civil servants don’t have pensions, politicians shouldn’t either, but it’s subject to approval in Parliament. If the Cabinet agrees, I will present it (to Parliament).
“If any MP wants to reject it, it’s up to them. I will present it because in terms of moral responsibility, how can we present it to the public with sound economic reasons but give an exception to politicians?
“I haven’t presented it to MPs for preliminary discussions yet, but if they want other special allowances like civil servants, we can discuss it.
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“Yet in terms of consistency in introducing policies, we need to be united,” he said at the launch of the Negeri Sembilan Madani programme here yesterday.
Anwar said the proposal to abolish the pension system for civil servants had been raised when he was the finance minister in the 1990s, but was dropped.
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He said the issue, including its economic implications, needed to be fully explained to the public to ensure that civil servants did not feel disadvantaged by the new retirement system.
“However, what will the impact be on the country’s economy if we continue? We cannot sustain it. Even wealthy nations have stopped this pension scheme, because they couldn’t sustain it.
“Some may wonder about those currently receiving pensions. They cannot be touched, it will continue (for them).
“Allowances for new civil servants will remain the same, unaffected. Let the public services department clarify and make the next announcement,” he said.
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