PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court today upheld the lower court's ruling allowing a retired judge to claim a shortfall in pension payments paid to him between 2015 and 2022.
A three-bench panel led by Tan Sri Nallini Pathmanathan dismissed appeals brought by the government and the Public Service Department (PSD).
The government and PSD were appealing against the Kota Kinabalu High Court's Dec 9, 2022, decision to allow the originating summons filed by Datuk Ian Chin Hon Chong and declare the amended Judges' Remuneration Act 2014 void and inconsistent with Article 125 (7) of the constitution.
Other members of the bench were Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof and Datuk Rhodzariah Bujang.
The court, in its judgment, agreed with the lower court's finding that the amendment to the Judges' Remuneration Act ran contrary to Article 125(7) and (9) of the constitution.
"It is important to note that the judiciary is the third arm of the government and the last bastion for citizens of the nation.
"Our role is to protect the sanctity of the constitution for the benefit of the citizenry. Who then is to protect the judges?
"Surely it must fall back on the constitution, and indeed the constitution does provide such constitutional guarantees," the court said.
Chin, who retired in 2008, filed an originating summons at the Kota Kinabalu High Court in 2022, seeking several declarations.
On Dec 9, 2022, the High Court declared the amended Judges' Remuneration Act 2014 void and inconsistent with Article 125 (7) of the constitution.
The High Court ordered that Chin be compensated RM301,768.60 being the shortfall in the pension paid to him between July 2015 and February 2022.
The amount is inclusive of five per cent interest.
On June 27 last year, the Federal Court decided that a 2013 amendment to the pension law was null and void.
The top court ruled that Section 3 (2) of the Pensions Adjustment (Amendment) Act, which came into effect in 2013, had put retired civil servants in a "less favourable situation" concerning their entitlement to increments in their pension.