The Kedah branch of the Malaysian Government Retirees Association is requesting the federal government to consider a review of civil servants’ pensions and to pay full pension to retirees who had served less than 25 years.

Its president, Harun Hashim, a former school principal, said it was reasonable for the government to make a decision as the request had been made five years ago and many changes had taken place in the civil service.

He said public sector retirees including police in the association were grateful to the federal government for meeting their claims which included extending pension to widows and widowers of civil servants who had remarried effective Jan 1 this year.

“However, the claim for a pension review and full pension are understood to be still being studied even though it is taking a rather long time.

“There is a significant difference between a pensioner who retired 20 years ago and someone who retired now within the same grade,” he told a media conference in Alor Setar today.

According to Harun, if the government could implement the pension review for the armed forces who served less than 21 years, the civil sector should also be given the same consideration.

- Bernama