PM Declares July 19 As Govt Pensioners Day

KUALA LUMPUR– Malaysia will celebrate Government Pensioners Day on July 19 every year in appreciation of their contributions in developing the country, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

The prime minister said the government had taken good care of the welfare of over 400,000 government retirees and he hoped that the private sector would also show their concerns to the group.

When addressing over 3,500 government pensioners at the opening of the 1Malaysia Government Pensioners Gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre here today, Najib also thanked the pensioners for their undivided supports for the government.

“As Prime Minister and on behalf of the government, I would like to thank all of you. Your supports really mean a lot (to us),” he said.

At the event, Najib also launched the 1Malaysia Government Pensioners Club (Kupekmas), which will become the specialised agency to take care of the pensioners’ welfare.

Present was Kupekmas president Datuk Omar Osman, who is also president of Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public Service (Cuepacs).

Najib said the parliamentary democracy system practiced in Malaysia emphasized on the support for the government to continue developing the country.

“The system gives the right to the people to give the mandate to their selected party to rule the country for not more than 5 years. In giving the mandate, it is important to ascertain how much we really believe in the party and its leadership.

“We must also look at the government’s track records in helping the people, defending the sovereignty of the country and the welfare of the government pensioners,” he said.

Najib said Malaysia was among the countries which had the best retirement scheme as the results of the national’s inclusive, not exclusive, economic policy.

“To give a salary increment or bonus to the public servants and pension to the pensioners will depend mostly on the government’s financial ability. To spend more than what we can afford is the formula for an economic downturn,” he said. -BERNAMA

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