PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s firm statement that he supports the abolition of pensions for politicians who are appointed to public offices proves that he ‘walks the talk’.Central Leadership Council of Keadilan Youth (AMK) member Haziq Azfar stated that Anwar’s decision will be a great blow to those who only talk about reforms when they lose elections but do nothing when they are in power.“Discussions related to the abolition of quite luxurious pensions for politicians have long been a polemic and have now ended with the decision of the unity government.“The biggest thing about the implementation of the abolition of pensions for politicians is for political leaders to live the same lives as ordinary people, in addition to reflecting the application of the government’s decisions and policies to all groups regardless of rank.”Yesterday (Jan 26), Anwar said he agreed in principle that whatever decision is made regarding the pension system for civil servants also applies to politicians.After the government decided that the civil servants employed as of Feb 1 this year will be on contract and will not receive pensions, there was a lot of criticism online, with netizens complaining that the abolition of MPs’ pensions was not mentioned in the plan.Netizens on X last week were showing their frustrations and anger towards the government on the matter.Shortly after, Anwar announced that MPs too will fall into the category of civil servants who will stop getting pensions as of February. – Jan 27, 2023
