Fact-check: Civil service pensions have not been cancelled

The Public Services Department has debunked a viral message claiming that civil service members will no longer be given pensions starting this year.

It also denied the claim that civil servants’ pensions have been converted to Employee Provident Fund (EPF) contributions and that politicians can no longer take home multiple pensions.

"Do not trust viral messages on WhatsApp, Telegram and so on. Always refer to the Public Services Department on matters which involve circulars and policy," the PSD said on X.

The message started circulating on WhatsApp early this year after Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said in January that a new civil service scheme is in the works.

This includes a new pension scheme involving a proposal to pay EPF contributions for new hires, instead of pensions.

In the same month, Finance Minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan said the government does not intend to change the pension scheme for existing civil servants but will affect those who “just entered” who will enter “on a contract basis for now”.

The government also said that it is studying the proposed scheme and that the study will conclude in the second quarter of this year. It has not made any other announcements since.

The fake viral message seems to be doing rounds again after the Kini News Lab on July 15 published its report on MP pensions, illustrating the amount of pensions politicians can get if they served at the state and federal levels, and in different capacities.

This followed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s statement in January that politicians are encouraged to take only one pension, but the decision is up to them.

Malaysiakini is part of the Malaysian fact-checking alliance JomCheck.

Through JomCheck, Malaysians can submit requests to fact-check a claim by sending a WhatsApp message to the tipline at 017-477 6659 (WhatsApp text only, no calls) or via this link.

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