Kota Kinabalu: Sabah Maju Jaya Secretariat Chief Operating Officer Datuk Ramlee Kariah said many government pensioners in Sabah are unaware of their medical entitlements and are turning to others for help with costs the State is ready to cover.
“Some of our pensioners, particularly those from the State Government, do not know the benefits they are entitled to.
“When they go to the hospital and the medicine or equipment they need is not available, they end up going from one person to another asking for help to buy it, when in fact they are entitled to State assistance,” Ramlee said at the closing ceremony of the Sabah Maju Jaya 2.0 Seminar, here, Tuesday.
The seminar was organised by the Persatuan Pesara Kerajaan Sabah (PPKS) in collaboration with the Sabah Maju Jaya Secretariat.
Ramlee said pensioners deserve to be treated with urgency and care, not burdened by unnecessary delays.
“These pensioners are our elders. They are our fathers, our mothers, our sisters, our family. Why should we make something that can be done in 30 minutes take three days and those three days become three weeks?” he said.
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He said during his time as the State Civil Service Department Deputy Director-General, when Datuk Rosmadi Sulai was then the Sabah Public Service Department Director-General, they had put in place a fast-track process to ensure medical claims from pensioners were settled without unnecessary delay.
For the record, Rosmadi is now the Sabah Maju Jaya Secretariat Chief Coordinating Officer.
“For claims of RM10,000 and below, we approved them right away without question. For amounts above RM10,000, we forwarded them as fast as possible to the State Secretary, who also approved without question,” Ramlee said.
“We made things easier for our pensioners who have served Sabah and her people,” he added.
Ramlee also praised the PPKS for holding its annual general meeting (AGM) at the same time as the seminar, noting that many associations across the country have been deregistered by the Registrar of Societies for failing to hold their AGMs.
“Organising a meeting and an event like this is not easy. It requires effort, leadership, unity and close cooperation among all members for it to run in an orderly and proper manner,” he said.
Ramlee said the PPKS plays a strong role in spreading the State Government’s development direction to the public.
Additionally, he said proposals from the PPKS are taken seriously and acted upon without hesitation. “When proposals come from our friends here, we do not think twice. We move straight away to make things easier for them,” he said.
Meanwhile, PPKS President Datuk Wilfred Lingham, when met on the sidelines, said retirement often brings feelings of depression and loneliness and that the Association was set up in part to help members through that difficult change.
“Many pensioners become very depressed and withdrawn when they leave service. That is why the PPKS is trying to tackle so many of these problems.
“The best way to overcome depression and loneliness is to organise activities for them so they can mix and build friendships with other members,” he said.
Wilfred, who is serving his ninth and final term as President, said the Association currently has close to 8,500 members across 28 branches throughout Sabah and is aiming to reach 10,000 members by the end of this year.
He said activities are planned with each community in mind. “What is suitable here in Kota Kinabalu may not be suitable for those in Sipitang or Kota Belud. That is why we try to keep them busy and, most importantly, healthy,” he said.
He said health programmes are a key focus for the Association and that the Health Ministry has been a consistent supporter.
Wilfred added that the collaboration with the Sabah Maju Jaya Secretariat, which has been running for three years, is one he hopes will grow further.
“This is a very important collaboration for us. We want the Government to include us in their activities and plans,” he said, adding pensioners still have much to give and do not want to be overlooked simply because they have left service.
“We want the Government not to forget us. Sometimes there is a feeling that once a person retires, they are simply set aside. But even at our age, we can still contribute because of our experience. We still have the energy and the mental capacity to do so.
“We want to play a role and we fully support the direction the Government is taking,” he said.
