By William Isau
SIBU, Jan 28: The proposal by the federal government to do away with the civil service pension system and replace it with the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) should be viewed from a more rational and long-term perspective by the people, says Dato Sri Tiong King Sing.
“Every year, from the hundreds of billions of ringgit in the budget, a large part to the tune of tens of billions is used to pay civil servants’ pensions.
“If the new system is not implemented, the government will have to bear RM120 billion in pension expenditure in 2040,” said the Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister at a Chinese New Year gathering organised by the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) last night (Jan 27).
Tiong said the proposal has aroused heated discussions among the public and that some political leaders from the ruling and opposition parties have taken the opportunity to exploit the issue.
He added that before giving their own ideas, everyone should first understand the ins and outs of the issue to avoid being influenced by public opinion or even opposing it for the sake of opposition without considering the long-term impact of the entire issue.
Tiong, also Bintulu MP and Dudong assemblyman, explained if the review of the civil service pension system can allow the country more access to funds to support the disadvantaged, upgrade rural infrastructure, and implement development plans—among others—it will go a long way to creating a bright future for Malaysians.
“We need to think comprehensively about the real meaning behind the reforms that we are striving for, especially now that Malaysia is in the stage of economic transformation.
“If we want the country’s economic development to break through the bottleneck and boost our competitiveness on the international stage, it is inevitable to implement reforms as the times evolve.
“Of course, it will take some time. Any reform will go through a painful ‘teething’ period before it can proceed smoothly and achieve the expected results,” he said. — DayakDaily
