Caption: Port of Spain North/St Ann’s West MP Stuart Young takes his oath before Speaker Jagdeo Singh
By Alicia Chamely
MEMBER of Parliament for Port of Spain North/St Ann’s West Stuart Young is not participating in the Prime Minister’s Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2025 parliamentary debate.
Calling the bill an abuse of the Constitution, Young issued a statement on Facebook Friday morning hours before he was due in parliament and shared his belief that the Bill targeted him specifically.
The Prime Minister’s Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2025, sought to introduce the provision that one cannot claim the PM’s pension without having served one full year in the position.
The bill also established a system of meritocracy, meaning the full PM’s pension would only be paid if the PM served the full five years term. Less than the full five years, the PM would receive a reduced pension based on the length of term being served once it is over one year.
The Bill’s retroactive application was to March 10, 2025.
Young served as prime minister from March 17 to May 1, 2025, when Kamla Persad-Bissessar was sworn in as the country’s 9th prime minister following the April 28 general elections.
In his statement Young said, “The UNC government has laid the Prime Minister’s Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2025 in the House of Representatives for debate. This bill specifically targets me as a former Prime Minister. The bill’s retroactive application to March 10, 2025, is constitutionally illegal as it is “ad hominem” (a law that targets a specific individual).”
He stated, “I will not support any ad hominem legislation and the abuse of the constitution. As a matter of principle, it is my view that I should not participate in or be present for the parliamentary debate of this bill.”
Young added, “Accordingly, I will not attend the parliamentary debate(s) on the bill.”
He ended his statement saying, “I will continue to serve Trinidad and Tobago to the best of my ability and true to the oath that I have taken, without fear or favour, malice or ill will.”
Young’s absence during the laying of Prime Minister’s Pension (Amendment) Bill, 2025, at the 5th Sitting of the House of Representatives, at the Red House, Port of Spain, was not lost on members of government.
Minister of Legal Affairs Saddam Hosein took issue with Young’s absence and his decision to announce it via social media, which Hosein called “contemptuous.”
