Jordanians overjoyed after King rejects lawmakers retirement benefits

AMMAN — Jordanians reacted with joy to His Majesty King Abdullah's decision on Monday to reject the draft civil retirement law that MPs amended to grant themselves lifetime pension benefits. 

King Abdullah said he rejected the amended draft civil retirement law because it does not address imbalances in the pension system nor ensures justice.

On Thursday, Parliament decided to grant its members lifetime pensions equal to those of ministers, under the draft civil retirement law, after introducing changes to a previous version in 2012 which the King also rejected. 

The bill had stipulated that lawmakers’ pensions would be calculated based on a minister’s basic salary, which is JD3,000 per month.

The lawmakers move was met with wide public outrage, but once the news of the King’s rejection of the bill was announced in the evening, Jordanians took to social media networks to express their joy. 

Sahel Diab (‏@SahelHKJ) tweeted that the decision of the King was expected, as the lawmakers’ move was against the people’s will.

“May God protect our King,” tweeted Firas Al Abdallat (@firasalabdallat) in a comment on the Royal Court’s account on Twitter. 

Mohammed Khalil ‏(@moekhalil81) expressed his gratitude for the King. 

“Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” he wrote.     

Stevegem Moser wrote on her Facebook account that the King’s rejection of the MPs’ pension bill was “a wonderful decision in the right moment”.

“They want more money... Thanks King Abdullah for standing up for the little guy,” Osama Qussous commented on Facebook. 

Motasim Hasanat said the announcement of the King’s decision was the best news to hear.