Kuala Lumpur: The MADANI government has assured that the pension adjustments for Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) retirees who retired before and after January 1, 2013, will not be withdrawn if the government wins its case at the Court of Appeal.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin stated that the government’s stance is that the pension method for retirees before and after January 1, 2013, remains unchanged. The formula has been consistently implemented following 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 January 1, 2013,” Mohamed Khaled emphasized. He assured that the government will adhere to the ruling by the Court of Appeal in May, guaranteeing that if the government wins the appeal, the existing pension adjustments will remain unaffected.

He further mentioned that the government has already adjusted the pensions appropriately, complying with the directive from the High Court. Mohamed Khaled highlighted the need for clarification from the Court of Appeal on the pension adjustments, particularly for veterans who retired before January 2013.

“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,” he remarked, questioning the High Court’s intent regarding the adjustments applied uniformly to all retirees post-January 1, 2013.

The appeal to the Court of Appeal by the government, the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, and the Malaysian Armed Forces Council challenges the High Court’s decision favoring 50 ATM retirees. These retirees had sued over the pension adjustments applicable to those who retired before January 1, 2013.

On February 5 of the previous year, Judicial Commissioner Dr. Suzana Muhammad Said ruled in favor of all ATM retirees who retired before January 1, 2013, entitling them to pension adjustments at the rate and method applied to post-January 1, 2013 retirees.