KOTA BHARU, Oct 8 (Bernama) -- The welfare and wellbeing of public service pensioners continue to receive the government’s attention, as part of efforts to ensure that those who have served the country are not forgotten, said Public Service Department (PSD) director-general Tan Sri Dr Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had consistently stressed the importance of the PSD giving due attention to issues affecting pensioners.
“The Prime Minister has also consistently stressed that the PSD should look into issues affecting pensioners, particularly their welfare and wellbeing after retirement,” he told reporters after the Santuni Pesara Programme in Telipot here today.
He said, following the Prime Minister’s emphasis, the department had made its outreach to pensioners an ongoing initiative carried out alongside programmes held in various states.
Wan Ahmad Dahlan said the initiative reflected the government’s appreciation for pensioners who had contributed significantly to the country’s development throughout their years of service.
He also regularly reminded civil servants to continue giving due attention to pensioners as a way of appreciating their contributions after they had completed their service.
Meanwhile, Wan Ahmad Dahlan visited three public service pensioners in Bachok and Kota Bharu, Kelantan, under the Santuni Pesara Programme.
The programme, carried out in collaboration with the PSD, Retirement Fund Incorporated and the Kelantan State Implementation Coordination Unit, aims to ensure that the welfare and needs of pensioners continue to receive due attention, particularly those who require support and assistance.
They pensioners are Mohd Nazar Abu Bakar, 61, a former research assistant at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI); Lee Choon Seng, 90, who had served as a non-graduate service officer at the Ministry of Education (MOE); and Siti Zaitun Abdullah, 78, a former graduate education service officer with the MOE, who is now receiving care at ShalisCare Centre here.
The visit was particularly meaningful as Siti Zaitun was Wan Ahmad Dahlan’s former Geography teacher when he was a student at Sultan Ismail College here.
-- BERNAMA