KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Minister of Finance Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has given his assurance that the government is committed to safeguard the livelihood of the Malaysian Armed Forces (ATM) veterans and has never forgotten their service in the annual budget.
He was responding to allegations from certain quarters that the tabling of Budget 2023 last month neglected ATM veterans.
“Not everything can be announced in the speech, which if we do, could take more than half a day. So, there are many more initiatives that are not mentioned in the budget speech but are in the thick budget book,” he said at a dinner and engagement with ATM veterans, Malaysia Civil Defence Department and Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM) members organised by the Kuala Selangor National Anti-Drugs Agency today.
He said among the things announced for ATM veterans is an allocation of RM10 million in the form of special financing for veteran entrepreneurs under the National Entrepreneur Group Fund (Tekun) for ATM veterans who wanted to do business.
Tengku Zafrul said the government also provided RM50 million under the SEMARAK Veteran BSN programme for business financing besides the Social Security Organisation (Socso) employment incentive, which provided employers, who employ ATM veterans, with incentives of between RM600 and RM750 per month for three months.
He said a 50 per cent discount on bus tickets would also be given to ATM veterans for the Prasarana transportation system in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Pahang.
“InshaAllah, if Barisan Nasional is given the mandate to form the Federal Government, we will re-present the Budget 2023 and ensure veterans will continue to be taken care of,” he added.
