Gov't Assures ATM Pension Adjustments Will Not Be Withdrawn If It Wins Court Case

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 (Bernama) -- The MADANI government has assured that the pension adjustments for Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) retirees who retired before and after Jan 1, 2013, will not be withdrawn if the government wins its case at the Court of Appeal.

Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the government's stance is that the pension method for retirees before and after Jan 1, 2013, remains the same, as the formula has never been changed and has been implemented in accordance with the Armed Forces (Pensions, Gratuities, and Other Benefits) Regulations 1982.

"In other words, the government maintains that there is no difference in the pension formula for personnel who retired before and after Jan 1, 2013.

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"I assure that the government will comply with and follow the ruling that will be issued by the Court of Appeal in May, and I also guarantee that if the government wins this appeal, the pension adjustments that have already been made will not be affected or withdrawn," he said when winding debate on the motion of thanks for the Royal Address for his ministry in the Dewan Rakyat today.

He added that the government has already adjusted the pensions appropriately and in accordance with the directive of the High Court.

Mohamed Khaled noted that the government requires clarification and a ruling from the Court of Appeal, as the pension adjustments for veterans who retired before January 2013 have been implemented in an appropriate manner and rate.

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"This case is a matter of legal interpretation. The government needs guidance and an order from the Court of Appeal on what the High Court meant when it stated that no pension adjustment existed.

"What did the High Court mean by implementing the adjustments in the same manner and rate as those applied to all retirees after Jan 1, 2013?" he said.

The government, the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, and the Malaysian Armed Forces Council have appealed to the Court of Appeal against the High Court's decision in favour of 50 ATM retirees who sued them regarding the pension adjustments for retirees who left service before Jan 1, 2013.

On Feb 5 last year, Judicial Commissioner Dr. Suzana Muhammad Said ruled that all ATM retirees who retired before Jan 1, 2013, are entitled to pension adjustments according to the rate and method applied to retirees who retired after that date.

-- BERNAMA