REMBAU - Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan hopes that the adjustment of Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) veterans' pensions can be implemented next year.
He said that the ministry had sent a proposal paper on the matter for the attention of the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the parties involved.
"I heard news that there is a Cabinet Committee Meeting chaired by the Prime Minister not only regarding the pension adjustment but also the adjustment of civil servants' salary since it has not been studied for over 10 years.
"So I also don't know what the outcome of this meeting is. I hope it will be discussed properly. We hope that the adjustment of salary and pension of ATM members before 2013 can be given attention and a little adjustment. If not a lot, it's okay as long as there is some given to them," he told reporters after an evening tea ceremony with Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates for Kota state assembly on Monday.
In the meantime, the Rembau Member of Parliament said that there are many important discussions that need to be held, including some by the Public Service Department (PSD) before pension and salary adjustments can be implemented.
However, he did not rule out the possibility that it could be presented at the 2024 budget tabling at the end of this year.
"This research is nothing easy. It is time-consuming, involves many parties and must be done as best as possible.
"There are things, if overlooked, would be part of a problem in the future," he said.
Previously, the media reported that PSD would review the difference in pension amount between ATM veterans who retired before Jan 1, 2013 and those who did from the date onwards.
It follows Anwar's recent announcement that for public officials who retired before 2013, pension payment will be returned to the December 2012 amount and for public officials who retired from 2013 onwards, pension payment would be returned to the original amount upon retirement.