View govt's pension move rationally, think long-term, says Tiong

SIBU: The Federal Government's proposal to abolish 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, says Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

The Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister said that if the new system is not implemented, the government will have to bear RM120bil in pension expenditure in 2040.

"I hope everyone will think deeply. Every year from the hundreds of billions of ringgit in the budget, a very large part - to the tune of tens of billions of ringgit - is used to pay civil servants’ pensions.

"If the new system is not implemented, the government will have to bear RM120 bil in pension expenditure in 2040," said Tiong.

Speaking at the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) Chinese New Year gathering on Saturday night (Jan 27), he said that the proposal had aroused heated discussions among the public.

"Some political leaders from the ruling and Opposition parties have taken the opportunity to exploit the issue, and believe that the government should not make such reforms," he stressed

He added that 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 create a bright future for all Malaysians.

"We need to think comprehensively about the real meaning behind the reforms that we are striving for.

"Especially now when 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.

"And 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.