PM Najib announces five new schemes for MAF veterans and RM5 million for warriors' fund

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak today announced five new schemes for Malaysian Armed Forces (MAF) veterans including annual assistance for non-pensionable veterans and an annuity scheme.

Sharing the good news in front of more than 15,000 MAF veterans at the MAF Veterans Assembly in conjunction with the launch of the Warriors' Fund 2017 here, Najib announced the Bantuan Bakti Negara (BBN) aid scheme which would become the initial aid from the government specifically for non-pensionable MAF veterans.

"The BBN is an annual assistance to non-pensionable MAF veterans to assist them in elevating their socio-economic level," he said at the Mines International Exhibition and Convention Centre (MIECC).

Najib said the BBN scheme was an extension of the scheme for MAF veterans which was introduced in 2013 namely the 1Malaysia Non-Pensionable Veterans Scheme.

"This scheme was continued to ensure that the welfare of non-pensionable MAF veterans continued to be looked after by the government.

"The introduction of the BNN is a new mechanism for the government to assist the low-income and non-pensionable MAF veterans without burdening the existing government financial sources,"he said to loud applause from the people attending the gathering.

Also present were Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor as Patron of the Warriors'Fund Campaign, Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammudddin Tun Hussein, Armed Forces Chief General Tan Sri Raja Affendi Raja Mohamed Noor and the president of the MAF Veterans'Association Senator Admiral Tan Sri Anwar Mohd Nor.

According to Najib, the conditions for eligibility to receive the BBN basically was the criteria that they were recipients of the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M), that is, they belonged to the B40 group, where RM1,200 would be given to 66,000 non-pensionable MAF Veterans based on the list of BR1M recipients.

"Whereas for Non-Pensionable MAF Veterans who are not recipients of BR1M, they will receive RM600 on condition that they are above 60 years old. For this purpose, 10,959 non-pensionable veterans above the age of 60 in 2017 will receive the benefit from the BBN initiative,"he said.

Announcing the second initiative named Veterans' Annuity Scheme (SAVe), Najib said the objective was to give a lifelong monthly income to would-be non-pensionable MAF veterans like those enjoyed by veterans receiving monthly pensions.

Najib said SAVe was a form of social security net that promised financial incentives on a monthly basis to would-be non-pensionable MAF veterans through government contributions.

"SAVe covers serving MAF personnel where the initiative enables permanent MAF personnel to receive the initiative even if they intend to retire from service earlier," he said.

The Prime Minister said the contribution under the SAVe scheme would always be in the savings account and would give monthly benefits to the veterans, and it could also be handed over to the eligible next of kin upon the death of the veteran.

"The BBN and SAVe schemes are to look after the welfare of the MAF members who have chosen to discontinue their services until the minimum period that enables them to receive the pension. Through this approach, the government is confident it can ease the burden borne by them after completing their service,"he said.

Najib announced that the third initiative which was an improvement to the Disability Pension Scheme for MAF veterans and former full-time members of the Territorial army who served less than 10 years and did not receive pension as they had to be retired early due to injury or permanent disability while on duty.

According to Najib, among the veterans receiving the Disability Pension, there were those who received a pension of as low as RM65 and the government was concerned about the present economic situation and the difference in the value of the pension for veterans categorised within this group.

"Thus, I announce that MAF veterans grouped in this category (disability pension) will receive an increase in their pension of between 300 to 800 per cent. This involves a minimum value of RM500 up to a maximum of RM2,000," he said.

"It is hoped that the improvement in the payment of the disability pension scheme for MAF veterans, whose services are terminated within less than 10 years of service due to permanent injury, can ease their burden and give significant meaning to their lives,"said Najib.

Najib also announced the fourth scheme which was the Warriors' Fund For Disabled Veterans of the MAF Veterans' Association with an additional allocation of RM500 by using government allocation to raise the overall incentive to RM1,000 compared with RM500 previously for MAF veterans who were disabled after retirement.

He said the incentive would be paid to the recipients twice a year to ease their cost of living burden.

The Prime Minister announced the fifth incentive involving an increase in the haj quota for MAF veterans from 100 to 400 people this year.

The Prime Minister also said low-cost housing projects for veterans and staff who were still serving would be announced in two or three months from now.

He said the move was part of the upgrading of various incentives for the welfare of armed forces personnel which had been announced before this.

"This shows the government's seriousness in looking after the nation's warriors including the veterans who had sacrificed their lives to defend the sovereignty of our beloved country," he said.

He said the patriotic spirit shown by armed forces personnel today reflected the united support for the government which should be emulated by the National Transformation 50 (TN50) generation.

"The younger generation must learn from the spirit shown (by the MAF veterans), if the TN50 generation can have the spirit, then our Malaysia will surely become one of the top nations, with a high degree of patriotism," he said.

At the event, in conjunction with the gazetting of July 31 as Warriors' Day for the whole country, Najib also launched the 2017 Warrior's Fund Campaign to collect donations for the welfare fund to commemorate the deeds of the nation's warriors who had died defending the country.

"Surely the announcement of the government initiative for the MAF veterans would increase the significance of the Warriors Fund campaign.

"Last year, the fund collected RM4.65 million, so this year, the collections will be the highest in history, with the government giving a special allocation of RM5 million" he said, greeted by loud cheers from the MAF veterans who were present.

Najib said all the initiatives and upgrading of the MAF service scheme especially for non-pensionable veterans proved that the government's efforts to take care of the welfare of MAF veterans were inclusive and holistic.

-- BERNAMA