They want to give a warrior RM200 a month for his 28 years of service. They insult him, some people spend more money on their prized dogs and cats than what they want to give Captain Mukhtiar. He is not asking for charity and handouts. He wants acknowledgement for the great deeds he has done for his country, our country, putting his life on the line many a time. All he wants is his modest pension, not public relations statements and insulting handouts like this:

While his pension has been denied yet again by the Defence Ministry, all is not lost for Capt (Rtd) Mukhtiar Singh — at least not on the financial front. The ministry’s Veterans’ Affairs Department is stepping in to see if it could possibly aid Mukhtiar via other means, by providing welfare support. When contacted yesterday, its director-general Major Gen Datuk Zulkiflee Mazlan said that while the department does not have the authority to determine whether Mukhtiar is entitled to his pension, it is offering the ex-serviceman an alternative means of receiving financial aid.

"I sympathise with Mukhtiar for his unfortunate predicament. I urge him to come forward and am very much looking forward to meeting him so we may do our best in helping him to the best of our ability as he is not the only veteran facing financial difficulties after retirement. The department’s role is to provide aid to these people," he said in a phone interview yesterday. The department has several welfare programmes available for eligible ex-servicemen. Depending on his financial standing and current living conditions, Zulkiflee said Mukhtiar may be able to apply for its "program sara hidup", which will see him receiving a monthly allowance of between RM100 and RM200.

Besides that, impoverished veterans with school-going children can apply for a programme, where the department would give a one-time handout of RM1,000 for those with children pursuing a degree, RM700 for a diploma and RM500 for secondary school. In addition, veterans with a "kad bekas tentera" are entitled to receive medical assistance, in the form of free services and benefits. "We may not be able to help him with the issue of his pension but we want to do the best we can in ensuring that he gets all the assistance he needs. If he is found eligible, we will ensure that he applies to whatever aid programmes we have for veterans in need," said Zulkiflee.

Meanwhile, Indian Ex-servicemen Association president Sgt (Rtd) T. Nagarajan contacted the Malay Mail yesterday to announce that the association would be holding a meeting soon to discuss how it may assist Mukhtiar. The association, home to more than 1,000 ex-servicemen of Indian heritage, actively plays a role in helping its members facing social and economic problems. "We hope to get in touch with Mukhtiar soon to learn more of his plight. He may not be a member of the association but his story is a sad one and we will do our best to ensure the welfare of our fellow veterans," he said, adding that the association was planning to set up a fund for Mukhtiar.

When contacted, Mukhtiar said he was happy with the show of support. "However, the issue isn’t about me needing financial aid. It’s about getting recognition for my services to the country. For ex-servicemen like myself, receiving pension is proof of recognition for our contributions," he said. On Oct 20, we front-paged a story on Mukhtiar, a decorated ex-serviceman who had fought the communists during the Emergency and was, yet, denied pension even after 30 years due to having missed two compulsory courses during his tenure in the armed forces. Despite his plight being highlighted by the media and even brought to Parliament, the Defence Ministry still stands firm on its decision to deny Mukhtiar his pension — owing to the fact that he had not served up to 21 years with the armed forces, thus ripping away his eligibility of a pension. This was because his years of service in the police force prior to joining the army was not taken into account.

He was honoured for gallantry by Queen Elizabeth and awarded the Pingat Jasa Kebaktian by the Sultan of Selangor. The Malay Mail