PUTRAJAYA, Sept 9 — The Court of Appeal has reserved its verdict on the government's application to stay a High Court’s decision allowing a judicial review by a pensioner regarding the payment of pension adjustment for retirees based on their final salary according to the 2016 Public Services Department Circular, effective January 2022.
A three-member bench chaired by Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Lim Chong Fong deferred the judgment on the government's appeal after hearing submissions from Senior Federal Counsel Ahmad Hanir Hambaly @ Arwi, representing the government and the Public Service Director-General, and counsel Datuk Abd Shukor Ahmad, representing retired civil servant Aminah Ahmad.
"We need time to consider the matter. We set September 17 for case management," said Justice Lim, sitting with Court of Appeal Judge Datuk Azhahari Kamal Ramli and High Court Judge Datuk Meor Hashimi Abdul Hamid.
Aminah, who retired as a civil servant with the Foreign Affairs Ministry, filed the judicial review application on January 12 last year in her capacity and on behalf of 56 retired members of the public service.
On January 16 this year, when allowing her judicial review, High Court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh ordered the Public Services Department (PSD) and the government to pay the arrears within three months from the date of the judgment (January 16).
However, on March 4 this year, Judge Amarjeet allowed the government's application to stay payments of pension arrears to 531,976 pensioners amounting to RM1.7 billion, pending the disposal of its appeal at the Court of Appeal.
Aminah was seeking a mandamus order to compel the respondents to expedite the pension adjustments to the qualifying amount following the formula contained in Sections 3 and 6 of the Pensions Adjustment Act 1980 (PAA 1980) before amendments were made under Sections 3 and 7 of the Pensions Adjustment Act (Amendment) 2013 (PAA 2013).
She also sought an order for the respondents to pay the pension arrears within 14 days, in addition to a declaratory order stating that the failure to pay violates the Federal Constitution.
Under the old scheme, the retiree's pension is revised based on the prevailing salary of incumbent civil servants in that grade. However, the 2013 amendment was introduced based on a flat rate of two per cent annual increment.
Earlier, Hanir submitted that the High Court judge had erred in holding that the doctrines of res judicata, issue estoppel and abuse of court process were not applicable, as the issue of salary revision, which forms the crux of the current judicial review application, had been directly and substantially raised in the Originating Summons (OS) filed by Aminah in 2017.
"The respondent (Aminah) is not entitled to a mandamus order to compel the Director General of Public Services to make the necessary adjustments of one Kenaikan Gaji Tahunan (KGT) for the purpose of computing the pension in favour of entitled pensioners under Section 3 and 6 of PAA 1980," he said.
Meanwhile, Shukor, assisted by counsel Datuk Baljit Singh Sindhu, argued that the respondent’s application did not constitute an abuse of the court's process, as it was prompted by the appellants’ continued refusal to implement pension adjustments notwithstanding the post-judgment salary revisions.
