We read with much regret, the condescending comments of the Post-Service Division (Pension Department) Director Yeow Chin Kiong in the media regarding pensions and his jaundiced view of pensioners which enhances an erroneous public perception of pensioners.

Pensioners did not create themselves. They are a product of government service following the British administration of Malaya. While they were serving the country, they received much less salary than those in the private sector. The contract was that after retirement they would receive compensation in the form of pension now correctly referred to as ‘deferred salary’.

Up till now, the calculation of the deferred salary has been based on maximum of 25 years of service even though a government servant may have served 35 years. Pensioners understandably feel robbed. Even now with the maximum raised to 30 years, the many who have served for more than 30 years are still robbed, and may never see justice done.

There was a time in recent memory when numerous pensioners from a ‘past era’ were drawing less than RM100. After much struggle with the government, the government decided to pay pensioners a minimum of RM180, which, at the time, was barely enough to rent a room in Kuala Lumpur. Now the minimum has been raised to RM 720.

You would think pensioners would be jumping for joy for such generosity from the government. The truth is, most pensioners are now already drawing close to RM720. It cost the government very little to be seen as generous. The reason? Most pensioners drawing low pensions and in dire straits have already died. The rest won't be living much longer as they are already so old. So much for the generosity of the government.

Pensioners have not been a burden to the national economy but have always been used as an excuse by the government which has time and again frustrated the pensioners' struggle for their just due and given the public a wrong impression.

‘The measure of whether pensions have become too burdensome is whether it exceeds two per cent of the gross domestic product. Anything above two per cent will trigger alarm bells.

At the moment, it is hovering well below two per cent,’ said Yeow.

In 2007, the pension payout was 1.39 percent of the GDP. As of October last year, it was 1.06 percent. Another factor is the operating expenditure of the entire pension-management system.

The alarm ceiling is 10 percent of the total cost of running the government. At the moment, it is well below 10 percent.

Last year, the operating cost of the pensions system – the cost of paying Post-Service Division staff and the generation of retired staff before them, as well as water and electricity - was 5.69 percent.

This year, it is expected to pull in 6.8 percent (exact figures have yet to be finalised).

A large pensions pool only becomes a burden when pensioners outnumber taxpayers, said Yeow.

But as the recent Penilaian Menengah Rendah examination showed, there were 442,000 children in that year alone.

And this number grew by tens of thousands a year, said Yeow. ‘Within three years, these young people will make up the job market. My pensioners' list will not show a massive increase because of delayed retirement. So, it's a balancing thing.’

Without going into lengthy details regarding the abolishing of derivative pension, residency requirements, ex-gratia payments to parents, automatic credit into bank accounts for Scheme B pensioners, abolishing of medical reimbursements etc, it is too little too late. Many have died waiting and never received what is justifiably theirs.

And it is most unkind for the director of Post-Service Division (formerly the known as the Pensions Division) to impute that pensioners are a ‘nuisance’ and lazy.

In fact, he should define what he means by ‘nuisance’ and ‘lazy’ instead of giving the impression that pensioners are generally good for nothing or creating trouble all the time. His views and demands of the pensioners speaks volumes of him.

When Yeow retires, he claims he ‘will not clamour for more and more benefits’ forgetting that pensioners have only asked what is justly due to them.

But we expect Yeow to keep his word, because by the time he retires, he will be a very rich man with a fat pension in his pocket.