What makes the resignations of Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad particularly difficult for some voters to accept is that neither man was a political newcomer.
These were not first-term MPs overwhelmed by the realities of government.
These were senior leaders.
Cabinet ministers.
Individuals who fully understood the responsibilities attached to elected office.
When voters supported them, they were not merely electing activists or party strategists. They were electing lawmakers and ministers expected to serve the mandate entrusted to them until the next election.
Yet after internal party setbacks, both chose to walk away from the Cabinet.
That is their right.
Nobody disputes that.
But rights and responsibilities are not always the same thing.
What makes this issue even more difficult to ignore is that the public is not talking about a small retirement benefit.
Under the Members of Parliament (Remuneration) Act 1980, an MP can qualify for a lifelong taxpayer-funded pension after completing just 36 months of reckonable service.
Three years.
Think about that for a moment.
An ordinary Malaysian may spend thirty or forty years working, contributing to EPF every month, worrying whether there will be enough savings for retirement.
A civil servant generally needs at least ten years of service before qualifying for a pension and may need around thirty years to achieve the maximum pension entitlement.
Yet an MP can qualify after only three years.
Even more remarkably, a politician requires only about 7.2 years of service to reach the maximum pension cap of 60 percent of their highest or final allowance.
The disparity is difficult to explain to taxpayers who spend decades building their retirement security.
But the story does not end there.
Unlike ordinary workers, politicians who have held multiple public offices may legally receive multiple pensions.
An individual who has served as an MP, state assemblyperson, minister, menteri besar or chief minister can potentially accumulate pension entitlements from several positions simultaneously.
In other words, while many Malaysians worry whether their EPF savings will last through retirement, some politicians may draw several taxpayer-funded pensions at the same time.
Legally.
Perfectly within the rules.
But legality is not the same as public acceptance.
As the old American saying goes, just because you can doesn't mean you should.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim himself has previously suggested that politicians who qualify for multiple pensions should exercise moral responsibility and opt for only one scheme.
Yet that remains voluntary.
The system itself remains largely intact.
This is why the resignations of Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad strike a nerve with many Malaysians.
The issue is not merely that they left Cabinet positions.
The issue is that politicians can leave office, leave unfinished mandates, leave disappointed voters behind, and still potentially retain pension privileges that most ordinary Malaysians could only dream of receiving.
That is where the contradiction becomes impossible to ignore.
The rakyat are repeatedly told to accept subsidy rationalisation.
The rakyat are told fiscal discipline is necessary.
The rakyat are told sacrifices must be made.
Fair enough.
But shouldn't the same standards apply to politicians?
Because if ordinary Malaysians must justify every ringgit of public expenditure, surely politicians should be prepared to justify why a person can qualify for a lifetime pension after just three years in office.
As we say in Malay, ukur baju di badan sendiri.
Before asking the rakyat to tighten their belts, perhaps the political class should first examine the privileges hanging in its own wardrobe.
After all, the taxpayers funding those pensions are the very same voters whose mandate some politicians chose not to complete.
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