PSD mulls pensioners' Cola plea

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Service Department (PSD) is deliberating whether to fulfil pensioners' requests for an increase in cost of living allowance (Cola).

Its director-general, Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdullah, said the department would be issuing a statement on the matter soon.

Following the prime minister's announcement that civil servants would be awarded a 13 per cent salary increase, the New Straits Times received letters from pensioners asking the government to increase their living allowances by RM50.

Cuepacs financial secretary Ja'apar Mansor said he supported the request but maintained reservations regarding its implementation. "I support the move, but realistically there's a total of about 500,000 pensioners, which is a very big number."

He said an increase of RM50 in the allowance, even for those still serving, already amounted to RM500 million.

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Ja'apar said Cuepacs was focusing on getting the RM300 allowance to include those still serving in all areas, not just cities.

"Currently, the RM300 living allowance is only awarded to civil servants serving in the city while those in other places get either RM250 or RM150," he said.

Meanwhile, Senior Consumers Association president Captain Francis Kerk said the allowance needed to be increased to meet the rising cost of goods. "The current sum is too low to support the escalating prices of goods, which leaves them underpaid."

Kerk said the government should also consider allowing those who have reached the retirement age to continue serving if fit and healthy.

"The retirement age for the public sector should be increased further as many senior citizens are still fully capable of making a contribution.

"The number of foreign workers brought in can also be reduced, ensuring greater economic stability."

He said the private sector was not as stringent on the retirement age, and urged the government to do the same by providing jobs "suitable for senior citizens".

PM PERJELAS PROSES RANGKA SBPA

Berita harian
Oleh Meor Hisham Zulkifli, Zanariah Abdul Mutalib dan Sophia Ahmad
2012/03/14


KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Razak menafikan dakwaan kerajaan tidak pernah memanggil CUEPACS untuk berbincang dalam merangka Skim Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA).

Perdana Menteri berkata, dalam proses merangka skim itu, kerajaan sudah mengadakan forum perbincangan bersama kongres berkenaan dan wakil persatuan melalui tiga Majlis Bersama Kebangsaan (MBK) yang bersidang sekurang-kurangnya tiga kali setahun.
Selain itu, katanya, mesyuarat tidak berkala lain juga diadakan antara pegawai tinggi kerajaan dengan ahli Majlis Tertinggi CUEPACS dan kerajaan turut menerima memorandum CUEPACS berhubung tuntutan tertentu, yang kesemuanya sudah dikaji dan diambil kira dalam penggubalan SBPA.
“Sepanjang 2011, 13 mesyuarat utama bersama CUEPACS diadakan merangkumi mesyuarat MBK, taklimat kepada ahli Majlis Tertinggi CUEPACS dan siri perjumpaan bersama CUEPACS yang membawa kepada termeterainya memorandum persefahaman (MoU) mengenai pelaksanaan SBPA antara Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam (JPA) dan CUEPACS yang ditandatangani pada 28 Disember lalu.

“CUEPACS menyenaraikan tujuh perkara di bawah SBPA untuk diteliti semula oleh kerajaan iaitu pemindahan mata gaji kurang adil, kekananan tidak diberi pengiktirafan, gaji maksimum, gred yang kekal dan tiada pergerakan, kenaikan gaji tujuh hingga 13 peratus, penukaran gelaran jawatan dan jurang gaji antara kumpulan pengurusan tertinggi dan kumpulan pelaksana, " katanya.

Beliau menjawab soalan asal Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) yang bertanya mengapa kerajaan daripada awal tidak memanggil CUEPACS untuk berbincang berhubung pelaksanaan skim SBPA dan pendirian kerajaan terhadap tuntutan CUEPACS.

Perdana Menteri berkata, dengan pembatalan SBPA dan pengenalan semula Sistem Saraan Malaysia (SSM) yang ditambah baik, sebahagian besar permasalahan yang dibangkitkan CUEPACS sudah dapat ditangani.
Menjawab soalan tambahan Datuk Mahfuz Omar (PAS-Pokok Sena) yang mahukan kepastian terhadap 36 golongan premier yang sebelum ini dikatakan sudah menerima gaji di bawah SBPA, Perdana Menteri berkata: “Nampaknya ahli Yang Berhormat berkenaan (Mahfuz) nak jadi juara kepada 36 orang dan kita (kerajaan) nak jadi juara kepada 1.4 juta penjawat awam”.

Bagaimanapun, jawapan itu menimbulkan rasa tidak puas hati beberapa ahli Parlimen pembangkang termasuk Mahfuz yang mula membuat kecoh dan menuntut jawapan lanjut daripada Perdana Menteri, yang kemudian dileraikan Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia

SEGERAKAN PERSARAAN KSN - IBRAHIM

Utusan Malaysia
15/3/2012


KUALA LUMPUR 15 Mac - Seorang ahli Parlimen Bebas hari ini mendesak supaya kerajaan mengambil tindakan tegas terhadap Ketua Setiausaha Negara (KSN), Tan Sri Mohd. Sidek Hassan dan Ketua Pengarah Perkhidmatan Awam, Tan Sri Abu Bakar Abdullah dengan menyegerakan persaraan mereka ekoran keputusan pembatalan pelaksanaan Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA).

Datuk Ibrahim Ali (Bebas-Pasir Mas) berkata, langkah itu wajar kerana kedua-dua mereka itu bertanggungjawab sepenuhnya kepada setiap kontroversi yang berlaku apabila didapati sistem itu langsung tidak memberi keadilan kepada penjawat awam.

Beliau berkata, akibat daripada tindakan Mohd. Sidek dan Abu Bakar itu juga, kerajaan terpaksa menanggung malu dan terpaksa berhadapan dengan kemarahan kakitangan awam sehinggalah SBPA dibatalkan dalam satu pengumuman yang dibuat oleh Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, baru-baru ini

PARLIMEN: PEMBATALAN SBPA : PEMBANGKANG MAHU DAPATKAN PUJIAN DISELAR

Bernama
15/3/2012


KUALA LUMPUR, 14 Mac (BERNAMA) -- Seorang anggota Parlimen Rabu menyelar wakil pembangkang yang cuba mendapatkan pujian daripada keputusan kerajaan membatalkan sistem Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA) baru-baru ini.

Datuk Mohamad Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) berkata 'kekurangan' dalam SBPA bukan hanya dikesan oleh pembangkang sahaja, sebaliknya turut disedari para penyokong kerajaan.

"Jangan menidakkan kepekaan kami sebab kami juga sedar sistem ini akan memudaratkan penjawat awam kerana itu kami menyokong tuntutan Cuepacs.

"Jangan ingat kami tidak boleh berfikir langsung, malah Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak juga sedia mendengar pandangan sebab itu keputusan ini diambil," katanya ketika mencelah perbahasan Azmin Ali (PKR-Gombak) pada persidangan Dewan Rakyat Rabu.

Azmin ketika membahaskan usul Menjunjung Kasih Titah Diraja mendakwa pembatalan SBPA merupakan hasil manifestasi suara rakyat khususnya penjawat awam yang diperjuangkan pakatan pembangkang.

‘Windfall’ must be returned

PETALING JAYA (March 14, 2012): Civil servants and pensioners who received a windfall in the form of substantial increases paid to them under the New Public Service Remuneration Scheme (SBPA), will have to return any excess now that the scheme has been scrapped.
“The government will reclaim any money which may have been disbursed under the SBPA,” Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Donald Lim told theSun today.
“The scheme never took off, so the money needs to go back to the government,” he said.
It is learnt that pensioners had received “new pensions” for January and February, with those above Super Scale C getting as much as 30% more.
Lim said he could not confirm offhand if new rates under the scrapped SBPA had been paid out, and that an investigation would be conducted.
“In any case, if anybody did receive money under the SBPA, we will take it back,” he said. There are about 580,000 former civil servants who are receiving pensions.
The government scrapped the SBPA last week following a review ordered by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak in the face of protests against the new scheme due to the stark salary difference between those in the Super Scale Grade (Jusa) and Premier grades numbering about 2,600 officers, and those in grades 54 and below.
Najib subsequently on March 8 announced the SBPA would be scrapped and the government would revert to the original Matrix Salary Schedule (SSM), albeit with some improvements.
In an immediate response, Cuepacs secretary-general Loke Yim Pheng said it would be right for the government to recover any money overpaid under the SBPA.
“It is fair enough that the government asks for the money to be returned, since the scheme was not officially implemented,” she said.
Loke, who is also National Union of the Teaching Profession (NUTP) secretary-general, commended the government for scrapping the SBPA and reverting to the SSM.
She said Cuepacs, which has been included in a special commission to be set up by the government to improve the SSM, will help to find a more permanent solution in the best interest of civil servants.
Loke said workers in the agricultural, technical and forestry sectors, numbering around 60,000, were unhappy with the scrapping of the SBPA, but efforts were being made to reach common ground.
“No arrangement can please everyone, but as long as it is favourable to the majority of civil servants, the scheme can move forward.
“We are not demanding equal pay but a fair distribution of wages. It must not create a huge gap between those in the highest positions and those in the lowest. That is our stand,” Loke said.
She said Cuepacs was of the view that civil servants should be paid wages reflective of productivity and complexity of their work.
Malaysian Government Pensioners Association president Datuk Paduka Raja Wan Mahmood Pawan Teh said the association will meet the Pensions Department on March 20 to discuss issues related to the SBPA.

SBPA: NAJIB NAFI TAK BINCANG DENGAN CUEPACS

Sinar Harian
13 Mac 2012

 

KUALA LUMPUR - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata kerajaan telah mengadakan perbincangan dengan Cuepacs dalam merangka Sistem Saraan Baru Perkhidmatan Awam (SBPA).

Perdana Menteri memberitahu persidangan Dewan Rakyat hari ini bahawa kerajaan telah mengadakan forum perbincangan bersama Cuepacs dan wakil persatuan itu melalui tiga Majlis Bersama Kebangsaan (MBK) yang bersidang sekurang-kurangnya tiga kali setahun.

"Mesyuarat tidak berkala lain juga diadakan antara pegawai tertinggi kerajaan dengan ahli Majlis Tertinggi Cuepacs. Kerajaan juga menerima memorandum daripada Cuepacs dengan tuntutan tertentu yang telah dikaji dan diambil kira dalam penggubalan SBPA.

"Sepanjang 2011, sebanyak 13 mesyuarat utama bersama Cuepacs diadakan merangkumi mesyuarat dengan MBK, taklimat pada Ahli Majlis Tertinggi Cuepacs dan siri perjumpaan bersama Cuepacs yang membawa kepada termeterainya memorandum persefahaman mengenai pelaksanaan SBPA antara Jabatan Perkhidmatan Awam dan Cuepacs yang ditandatangani pada 28 Dis 2011," katanya pada sesi soal jawab.

Beliau menjawab soalan Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PKR-Permatang Pauh) yang ingin tahu mengapa kerajaan tidak memanggil Cuepacs untuk berbincang mengenai pelaksanaan SBPA dan pendirian kerajaan terhadap tuntutan-tuntutan Cuepacs.

Sesi soal jawab kemudian bertukar kecoh apabila Datuk Mahfuz Omar (Pas-Pokok Sena) mengemukakan soalan tambahan mengenai status 36 pegawai dalam Kumpulan Primier yang telah menerima ganjaran gaji dan pencen mengikut SBPA sejak 1 Januari
lepas.

Menjawab soalan itu, Perdana Menteri berkata: "Nampaknya ahli yang berhormat berkenaan nak jadi juara kepada 36 orang ini. Kerajaan kita nak jadi juara kepada 1.4 juta penjawat awam."

Jawapan itu menyebabkan Mahfuz dan beberapa anggota pembangkang lain termasuk Ahmad Kasim (PKR-Kuala Kedah) dan Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad (Pas-Kuala Selangor) tidak berpuas hati.

Perang mulut dihentikan apabila Yang Dipertua Dewan Rakyat Tan Sri Pandikar Amin Mulia masuk campur dan menegaskan mana-mana menteri boleh memilih untuk menjawab atau tidak menjawab soalan yang dikemukakan.

Jumaat lepas, sumber JPA memberitahu Bernama jabatan itu dijadual bermesyuarat minggu ini untuk mencari mekanisme yang bersesuaian bagi menyelesaikan isu penjawat awam dan pesara yang sudah memperoleh bayaran gaji dan pencen mengikut SBPA.

Pada 8 Mac, Najib mengumumkan pembatalan SBPA dan mengembalikan Sistem Saraan Malaysia (SSM) yang ditambah baik yang menyaksikan penjawat awam menikmati kenaikan gaji antara tujuh dan 13 peratus berkuatkuasa 1 Januari tahun ini. - Bernama

CUEPACS WANTS LOWER INTEREST FOR HOMEBUYERS IN EPF LOAN SCHEME

Malaysia Insider
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal

March 13, 2012

Cuepecs said it is “concerned” that the “high interest rate” would profit the SPV set up by the government instead of helping poor homebuyers who are also EPF members. — handsetformwork.com.my pic

KUALA LUMPUR, March 13 — Putrajaya must lower the proposed 6.5 per cent annual interest for homebuyers getting city flats under the new Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) home loan scheme, says Cuepacs.

The country’s umbrella group representing government servants said it is “concerned” that the “high interest rate” would profit the special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the government instead of helping poor homebuyers who are also EPF members.

Cuepacs president Datuk Omar Osman told The Malaysian Insider that “6.5 per cent interest is too high. The purpose is not to make profits, it is to help them purchase low-cost homes.”

“These people are part of KWSP (EPF). The interest repayment rate should be between 3.5 to four per cent at the most. We do not want them to suffer having to repay such high rates.

“We hope that the high interest rate is not for the SPV involved to make a profit... we are concerned,” he added, referring to the special purpose vehicle linked to the Federal Territories Foundation.

The foundation’s scheme will be overseen by Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Datuk Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin and the firm will act as the middleman to grant home loans to potential home buyers. The EPF has been promised an annual return of 5.5 per cent for the money loaned to the scheme.

The federal opposition has, however, accused Barisan Nasional (BN) of abusing monies from the pension fund to hide its current debt levels under the guise of offering a purportedly “noble” housing loan to lower-income earners.

The foundation’s scheme will be overseen by Federal Territories and Urban Well-being Minister Raja Nong Chik. — file pic

Civil servants and private sector unions have said they were not consulted over the plan to utilise EPF funds.

Raja Nong Chik has declined to comment on the scheme or why federal funds could not be used for the project.

The EPF clarified last month it is in talks with a government agency to provide loans to city renters to buy homes but that the deal has not been inked.

It also said that the terms involve lending an initial sum of RM300 million to the federal government through the special purpose vehicle.

Another Putrajaya home ownership scheme for low-income earners has come to a grinding halt just a year after it was launched as banks are unwilling to risk loans with monthly repayments worth more than half the applicant’s salary.

The My First Home scheme launched by Datuk Seri Najib Razak in March 2011 offers 100 per cent financing to those aged below 35 and earning less than RM3,000 per month to purchase homes worth up to RM400,000.

But Chinese-language daily Sin Chew Daily reported earlier this month that a 30-year-loan for RM400,000 with a 4.3 per cent interest rate would require a monthly repayment of RM1,780.

Property prices in urban areas, such as Penang and Kuala Lumpur, rose by up to 40 per cent in 2010, fuelled by low interest rates and a surge in speculative buying, although prices slowed last year due to dampened sentiment from tightening measures such as a hike in the real property gains tax for early disposals.

Some reports have also estimated that property prices jumped from 5.9 times income in 1989 to 10.9 times in 2010. The Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey rates markets whose property prices are 5.1 times median income or more as “severely unaffordable”.

The HBA last year warned that an entire generation of young adults are at risk of being locked out of the property market due to runaway house prices.