COMMENT | EPF is the only ‘saviour’ for many today
COMMENT | Firstly, let me declare that I stand behind the majority of opposition MPs and some government backbenchers in opposing Budget 2021 as it is.
A political budget to favour a sitting government and not a people’s budget should never be allowed to sail through in Parliament.
Do we have to remind lawmakers that they must be on the side of the people? A race-centric budget is never about Malaysians. It smacks of bad, real bad politics.
I also agree with them in ticking off Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz for his perceived threat that civil servants and Covid-19 frontliners risked losing their salaries should the budget be defeated.
Any attempt to threaten lawmakers and instil fear among civil servants is unacceptable. No matter how the finance minister tried to wriggle his way out of the backlash, he has erred big time. Let us hope the newbie minister has learned some lessons from this episode...
COMMENT | Firstly, let me declare that I stand behind the majority of opposition MPs and some government backbenchers in opposing Budget 2021 as it is.
A political budget to favour a sitting government and not a people’s budget should never be allowed to sail through in Parliament.
Do we have to remind lawmakers that they must be on the side of the people? A race-centric budget is never about Malaysians. It smacks of bad, real bad politics.
I also agree with them in ticking off Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz for his perceived threat that civil servants and Covid-19 frontliners risked losing their salaries should the budget be defeated.
Any attempt to threaten lawmakers and instil fear among civil servants is unacceptable. No matter how the finance minister tried to wriggle his way out of the backlash, he has erred big time. Let us hope the newbie minister has learned some lessons from this episode.
However, on the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) issue, credit is due to Tengku Zafrul. I am glad that he has advised the EPF to allow more contributors to withdraw from Account 1.
“My advice to the EPF management is to increase the number (above the target) and give the flexibility for more contributors to withdraw,” Tengku Zafrul said in a recent interview with TV3.
To the finance minister, I say “thank you”.
Early this month, I had written on this EPF issue for two consecutive weeks in my column in a Sarawak newspaper. It is a matter of grave importance to the suffering rakyat during this pandemic.
I am bringing up this subject here again to share with a national audience my views and thoughts on an issue which I feel strongly about.
I am an EPF contributor myself, so I should know when I need to dig into my savings to tide me over tough and turbulent times.
However, this issue has no bearing in my case as I am a senior citizen and able to withdraw my savings any time. Nonetheless, this should not prevent me from speaking up for others who are desperately in need during this extraordinarily difficult time.
To many EPF members, the provident fund is their only “saviour” – their only lifeline, their only hope.
Speak to the ordinary wage earner who lost his job eight months ago and one will understand the dire straits he is in today.
If he is entitled to Prihatin, RM500 or RM1,000 is a help but only temporary. Who else can he turn to for assistance in the long term?
This is why I am totally in support of calls to the government to allow partial withdrawal from EPF savings in Account 1.
Yes, this time, I am on the side of Umno Youth and former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak who were very vocal on the issue.
When Najib declared that he would not support Budget 2021 if the RM10,000 lump sum withdrawal is not approved, the backlash he received from his political opponents was expected.
I am not a politician; hence, I do not look at Najib as an opponent. If what he said now is worth supporting, I will do so. To me, his past misdeeds have nothing to do with his statements which are deemed positive to me today. So it is too with Umno Youth.
I have also noted the arguments against the Account 1 withdrawal, the main reason being that EPF savings are meant for retirement and should not be touched.
That is clearly understood. Who among us will want to withdraw from our EPF savings if not for desperation? It is about our daily survival now.
The suffering rakyat needs money in their hands and they need it now. The emphasis is on “now”, not “later”.
The pandemic has forced many to focus on how to survive at this very moment. Worrying about having enough savings for retirement is furthest from our mind.
We understand it would be too much to expect the government to allow EPF withdrawals every time there is a national crisis.
But this is not a case of “every time” – this is a very extraordinary period with the worst pandemic ever to confront the human race. This is not only a national crisis but a global one of epic proportions.
The EPF Board has also raised concerns about Account 1 withdrawal, saying that the fund may have to resort to selling assets to raise the necessary funds.
To the layman, that’s the EPF problem to resolve. Whether EPF has to sell assets via bonds or land bank, they don’t really care about the dynamics.
The guy who saves RM1 million in the bank will expect the bank to have the amount to payout any time.
The EPF member with his hard-earned savings has a similar expectation - “Just give me what is due to me now, it’s my money anyway”.
FRANCIS PAUL SIAH heads the Movement for Change, Sarawak (MoCS) and can be reached at sirsiah@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.
