<figure id="attachment_3262733" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3262733" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3262733 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/098d8944-hockey-legend-dato-r-yogeswaran-jalan-gasing-pj-fauzi-yunus-210120266.webp" alt="Hockey Legend Dato R Yogeswaran" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3262733" class="wp-caption-text">Malaysia’s Olympic hockey legend R Yogeswaran holding photographs from a career that spanned international competition, coaching and decades of service to the sport and education.</figcaption></figure>
PETALING JAYA: RM1,050 a month. That is the estimated pension Malaysia’s Olympic hockey legend R. Yogeswaran says he would receive if the government approves his application.
He says the figure reflects 50% of his last-drawn salary of RM2,100 as a sports officer.
To him, the amount matters less as income than as assurance that his wife, June Manohara Shanta, will have some security after he is gone.
“I will be 86 next month,” he said. “I might not even see it. What I am doing is to give my wife some financial security.”
June, a Brinsford Lodge-trained teacher, now receives a pension of about RM2,000 a month. The couple say annual adjustments help, but the sum still goes towards most household expenses.
<figure id="attachment_3262743" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3262743" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3262743 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/6019301e-hockey-legend-dato-r-yogeswaran-jalan-gasing-pj-fauzi-yunus-2101202616.webp" alt="Hockey Legend Dato R Yogeswaran" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3262743" class="wp-caption-text">R Yogeswaran with his wife June Manohara Shanta, going through over 50 years of hockey photographs and memorabilia, part of his effort to secure financial stability for her in her later years.</figcaption></figure>
At present, Yogeswaran, a heart patient, depends on the medical benefits attached to June’s pension.
He has applied for recognition of his own service record because his final government grading as a sports officer would qualify him for a higher level of hospitalisation and medical coverage than a teacher’s grade allows.
The estimated amount has sharpened the focus of the case that was highlighted on FMT yesterday.
At roughly RM1,050 a month, the figure is far smaller than many would assume when the subject of pensions for decorated public figures arises.
Yogeswaran’s request did not begin this year. He has pursued the matter quietly through administrative channels for several years.
He served 23 years as a government officer — 11 years as an educator after training at Malayan Teachers College, followed by 12 years with the then culture, youth and sports ministry.
During his civil service career, he reached the B9 salary grade.
Official correspondence submitted with his application records these details, and the relevant ministries have acknowledged them.
Yogeswaran left government service to take senior roles in hockey administration, including leadership positions in national development programmes such as the 1MAS junior initiative.
The move kept him active in Malaysian sport but removed his eligibility for an automatic civil-service pension under standard rules.
He has therefore asked the authorities to consider his case under Section 9 of the Pensions Act 1980. The provision allows the Yang di-Pertuan Agong to grant retirement benefits in specific circumstances.
In a written reply, the pensions division of the public services department referred to Section 9 and asked Yogeswaran to submit documents for review and assessment.
The department explained that it would consider any award based on the records provided and within the scope of the law’s discretionary powers.
Yogeswaran says he has submitted all the documents he could obtain.
He also says that retrieving complete employment records from more than five decades ago has proved difficult, as files from the 1960s and 1970s may sit in archives, remain misplaced, or no longer exist in accessible form.
The pensions division has asked for supporting material to assess the application. It has not set a timeline for a final decision.
Its response outlines the legal pathway but makes no indication of the outcome.
Legal observers note that Section 9 operates on a case-by-case basis. It does not create automatic rights or open the door to blanket or retrospective pensions.
Those familiar with Yogeswaran’s case say approving his request would carry little financial impact.
They add that a clear and timely decision would address both a personal concern and a narrow question of how the government treats long-serving public figures in old age.
Beyond the paperwork, Yogeswaran’s place in Malaysian hockey stands on firm ground.
He represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 and in Mexico City in 1968. He later coached and managed national teams at major international tournaments over several decades.
In 2014, the Olympic Council of Malaysia inducted him into its Hall of Fame. He later received the title of Datuk in recognition of his contributions to the sport.

MatchPoint Times

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