PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated that the proposed new pension scheme is still in the early stages, with no final decision made yet.He was responding to various concerns raised about the proposed pension scheme and gave his assurance that the issue would be debated in Parliament as it required constitutional amendments.“The Constitution does not allow us to terminate anything previously agreed upon. What we want to do is a new rule that can come into force for new positions, including political positions.“That’s the proposal that we will table in Parliament which requires amendments to some laws. We cannot simply terminate something because we are tied to the law and the Constitution.“From a moral perspective, some ministers and MBs said they wanted to forgo their pensions. That is up to them,” Anwar said to a local news portal.Meanwhile, Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing said that the proposal to abolish the civil service pension system should be viewed from a more rational and long-term perspective.He added that if the new system is not implemented, the government will have to bear RM120 bil in pension expenditures in 2040.“I hope everyone will think deeply. Every year from the hundreds of billions of ringgit in the budget, a very large part—to the tune of tens of billions of ringgit—is used to pay civil servants’ pensions.“If the new system is not implemented, the government will have to bear RM120 bil in pension expenditures in 2040.” – Jan 28, 2023
