Government / Public Policy

Armed Forces pensioners, veterans looked after

KUALA LUMPUR: Class 1 Warrant Officer pensioners from the armed forces will receive a whooping 175.85 per cent hike in their pension payout.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said this will see such retired enlisted personnel receive an increase of RM984.75 in their pension payout.

He also told the Dewan Rakyat that from Oct 27 of this year, the government had increased the pension payout rate to RM1,000 for personnel who had been in the armed forces between 21 and 25 years.

“At the moment, the pension adjustment could not be done as it will involve other civil servants as a whole, which will lead to a huge financial implication to the government,” Hishammuddin said.

He was responding to a question from Mohamad Imran Abdul Hamid (PKR-Lumut) who asked when the Malaysia Armed Forces (MAF) pension adjustment could be implemented and the formula that would be used.

Hishammuddin said in addition to the pension, the government had also introduced various incentive to assist those who had served in the armed forces.

“This includes Bantuan Bakti Negara, Veterans’ Annuity Scheme, Disability Pension Scheme and Insurgency Special Incentive Payment for veterans who sustained injuries during the Emergency.

“This was aimed to lessen the burden of MAF veterans’ cost of living,” he said.

Hishammuddin adds that the government had also spent RM38.4 million under the MAF living assistance cost from 2016 to Oct this year for the armed forces personnel.

“This amount excludes the school assistance, medical assistance, housing assistance, university assistance and many more,” he added.— Additional reporting by TEH ATHIRA YUSOF.

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