KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court has dismissed an originating summons filed by a retired navy personnel against the government and two others over pension adjustments for Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) retirees who retired before Jan 1, 2013.
Justice Raja Ahmad Mohzanuddin Shah Raja Mohzan, in his dismissal, said that there was no shortfall in the pension amount received by the plaintiff, Rafique Ali Ahmad Nordin, as it had been carried out in adherence to the Pensions Regulations 1982.
In the decision, the court disagreed with the plaintiff's argument that the pensions for the plaintiff and 3,210 others should be adjusted every time the government issued a new salary scale.
“The law in this regard is trite that the precondition of the salary revision is expressly stated in the definition of 'current salary scale' under Regulation 51 of the Pensions Regulations 1982, stating that it refers to the most recent salary scale applicable in the event of a salary revision by the government,” he said in his broad judgment here on Thursday (Oct 16).
Justice Raja Ahmad concurred with the defendants, stating that the new salary schedules under the Malaysian Remuneration System for the years 2004, 2013 and 2016, as cited by the plaintiff, were not issued due to a general salary revision by the government.
The court said the schedules were introduced as part of amendments to the terms of service for the armed forces, and therefore, these changes do not apply to retirees who left service before the amendments came into effect.
“The rule applies only to armed forces members who are currently serving and agree to accept the option of the change of appointment, which will bind them to the new terms of service.
“As a consequence, I am constrained to dismiss the originating summons,” he said.
Although the plaintiff and the 3,210 armed forces pensioners did not succeed in their suit, Justice Raja Ahmad said he did not believe that their action was frivolous in attempting to enforce their rights.
“As a consequence of this factor and in light of their contributions to the nation, I make no order regarding costs,” he added.
Earlier, Justice Raja Ahmad dismissed the government’s application to strike out the suit.
Lawyers Datuk Dr Shukor Ahmad and Datuk Baljit Singh Sidhu, who represented Rafique Ali, told reporters that they would appeal the decision.
Senior Federal Counsel Nurhafizza Azizan and Federal Counsel Mohammad Sallehuddin Md Ali appeared for the defendants.
Rafique Ali had filed the summons on behalf of 3,210 other former armed forces personnel on April 11.
He named the armed forces Council, the Defence Ministry and the government in his legal action, seeking the defendants to pay pensions to, or adjust pensions for them, in accordance with the said regulations.
In the suit, the plaintiff seeks declarations that the defendants' actions in paying pensions that are less than what the plaintiff and 3,210 others should have received are wrongful and violate Article 147 of the Federal Constitution.
