cakap cakap...but I don't agree with you!

I read your last piece. It was good, but I didn't agree with your criticism of the bloated civil service. As you know, it takes 25-30 years to earn a pension in the civil service, unlike a one-termed politician. Pensions are given to prevent old age poverty, as the average civil servant's salaries are too low to save for retirement.

As a recipient of an old-age pension (and perhaps a state pension too), you must understand how important a pension is for sustaining life and living with dignity in old age. Surely you know that the age pension is one of the Australian federal government's largest spending programs, and it is often considered a "burden." However, the government also recognizes that the benefits of providing an age pension outweigh the costs.

Malaysians should not be fighting against government pensions (except for politicians with bloated salaries and allowances, which we should definitely fight against. And no, I'm not a Saddiq or MUDA fan).

Instead, we should fight for universal pensions, not just for government servants. The idea of a universal pension is not radical, as it has been proposed by prominent think tanks like Khazanah. It has also been proven in many countries to be cheaper and better for the country.

Currently, most Malaysians earn very little, too little to save for retirement. This is evident in data from the DOSM and EPF. If we do not prepare ourselves with a universal pension and other social safety nets, we will face a crisis in 15-20 years, when the country becomes an aging society.

If we start a universal pension today, we cannot start paying out benefits tomorrow. We need to save money and let it grow for at least for 20 years before we can start paying out pensions. The savings need to mature first. But we need to start now. Time is not on our side.

SZ