By Shannon Teoh, The Malaysian Insider
Former police chief Tan Sri Rahim Noor is getting paid an allowance based on his last drawn salary despite his pension being forfeited after he was convicted of assaulting Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz revealed in Parliament today.
Nazri, who is Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said Rahim began receiving the alimentary allowance after appealing to the Yang DiPertuan Agong. “The allowance is the prerogative of the Crown and is based on the IGP’s last drawn salary,” Nazri told reporters after debating the Pensions (Amendment) Bill 2008. His shocking revelation came after Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers objected to Datuk Ismail Abdul Muttalib’s (BN-Maran) claim that Anwar is drawing a pension for his service to the country. Anwar was assaulted on Sept 20 1998 after he was detained under the Internal Security Act. He was earlier sacked as deputy prime minister on charges of corruption and sodomy. Anwar, who made his parliamentary comeback in August after a thumping victory in the Permatang Pauh by-election, angrily refuted Ismail’s statement by saying that he had not been paid a sen “while in jail”. Anwar was jailed in 1999 but the Federal Court freed him in 2004 from his sodomy conviction. M. Kula Segaran (DAP-Ipoh Barat) then stood up and declared that “man who beat the former Deputy Prime Minister was paid a pension but the victim did not receive a sen”. But Nazri then clarified that Rahim was technically not receiving a pension but an allowance. He added that it was wrong to assume Anwar had not been paid a pension at all but that it only stopped upon his corruption conviction. Under the law, civil servants, elected representatives and Cabinet ministers receive a pension but this will be withdrawn should the individual be jailed a year or fined RM2,000 or more. According to Nazri, the Pensions Act provides for an alimentary allowance but at the discretion of the Agong. Nazri further explained that Anwar’s pension would now be calculated based on total years of service as an MP even from before his conviction. The pension will also be based on his highest drawn salary, i.e., as deputy prime minister.
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