I refer to the Malaysiakini report 'Workers, say no to 3% EPF reduction'.

As everybody might have realised, right now, from the village men and women to the urban dwellers, Malaysia's economy is heading for rough times.

All the brouhaha about the economy decoupling from the US is just a load of wishful thinking on the governments side. Now that the enormity of the turmoil is really upon us, Malaysians in a globalised world have nowhere to go but to buckle down and brace for the impact.

Tuesday's announcement by the finance minister of a RM7 billion stimulus package ought to have calmed our fears but truth is while the intention has been good, true to the Malaysian character, it is always the implementation part that leaves much to be desired.

Giving the option of reducing three percent from the monthly EPF employee contribution, as some quarters say, is like using tomorrow's money for today's problems. Also, this measure absolves the government from the responsibility of leading the country out of this economic mess by depending on the retirement funds of the workers.

Instead of a three percent EPF deduction, may I propose a more sensible way of providing more liquidity to the masses? Why not reduce the monthly tax deductions?

When confronted with the fact that only a little more than one million of Malaysians actually have to pay their personal income tax, it begs the question what actually happens to all the monies accumulated from the monthly deductions from the total workforce in this country, of which I am sure amount to something very significant.

And with the Inland Revenue Borad continuing to pussyfoot around when it comes to refunding tax overpaid, the amount surely can be put to better use to aid the retail industry or add an extra amount to our monthly savings.

I call on the government to reduce the percentage of scheduled tax deductions or eliminate them altogether for the next two years for eligible employees who are exempted from paying income tax.

This measure will not harm the retirement savings of millions of Malaysians and furthermore, it will surely encourage the IRB to be more professional and creative in discharging their duties.