This article by Ian McIntyre in the Malaysia Insider hits home. The point that pensioners are much neglected by the government still continue to broil ans stew. Till today, the government which had agreed to pay the pensions to civil servants based on their full period of service have still to see the light of day,notwithstanding that a 30 year service period capped at 30 years was implemented beginning January 2009.Ian McIntyre's news article touches on how ignorance by pensioners made them to lose on some benefits. It also tells us that Pension Associations are doing their job to alleviate the plight of pensioners under the onslaught of the runwaway inflation in Malaysia. Read on....
Bukit Mertajam circa 1 December 2009.
"Many civil service retirees remain unaware of their special privileges as they do not bother to register with the respective state pensioners associations.
Plight of pensioners ad-hoc committee Penang coordinator S. Arumugam said this had created a lot of misinformation regarding the entitlement accorded to them by the Government.
For example, he said many did not know that they could claim reimbursements from the Public Services Department’s (PSD) pension services division for medicine obtained from private hospitals.
“All they need to do is get a doctor’s recommendation letter from a government hospital especially if certain medicines are not available from such hospitals.
“They can submit a claim to the pensions department which promises to reimburse them within 30 days of submitting the claims,” he said.
Arumugam, who was speaking to reporters after attending a briefing with PSD post-services division director Datuk Yeow Chin Kiong at the Seberang Prai Municipal Council meeting room yesterday, said the pensioners could also obtain cataract lenses costing RM750 a pair for free if it was not available from public hospitals.
His committee recently obtained 813 signatures from pensioners here, seeking a review in their pension wages. The memorandum was then sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Arumugam said the meeting was fruitful as the participants were informed of the latest efforts by the PSD to alleviate the burden faced by pensioners in light of rising living costs and limited job prospects due to the fact that a large segment of the country’s population is generally below the ages of 50.
“Among the other privileges under consideration are rebates during renewal of international passports, lowering the costs of insuring old vehicles and up to 20% discount for shopping at selected hypermarkets.
“We were assured that no effort would be spared to ensure that pensioners can continue to enjoy a good quality of life despite a significant drop in their income disposal levels,” he added.
Arumugam said it was equally important for pensioners to keep themselves informed of their entitlements instead of claiming ignorance whenever there was dissatisfaction.
He also called on the Malaysian Employers Federation to support a proposal to extend the compulsory retirement age of the private sector from 55 to 58, similar to the public services sector."
As the pension associations are voicing out their grievances and providing the government suggestions on the things that the government can do to alleviate their current situation,will the government choose to listen?
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