The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), as the name suggests, is meant to provide its members some form of financial aid when they retire at the age of 55. Just like how anyone would treat his personal savings account, the EPF would exercise prudence in its spending from that account and would stay clear away from any temptations to do so, except on rainy days.

This is the basic idea, and any wise person would adhere to it without any problem, and without any regulations of any sorts, be it self-imposed or otherwise.

However, the reality of everyday life tends to get in the way of the ideal picture, and occasionally (more often than not) practicality and common sense prevail.

The idea behind this savings becomes meaningless if it does not provide for the 'rainy days' simply because of 'regulations'.

I am referring specifically to the big farce that the computer scheme was.

What is so important about a computer, or owning one? As Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad rightly said, the technology is developing so rapidly, if you buy one today it becomes obsolete the next day! I agree that the scheme should end, and I am happy that it is stopped as the ones profiting from this scam are the suppliers, not the consumers.

Contributors resort to falsifying of documents to get their own money, and paying hefty service fees to the unscrupulous people who 'organise' it (the real cheats).

Why are contributors doing this? Most of them actually needed the money for more important expenses rather than buying a miserable computer, like paying off a loan, or buying school books, uniforms and shoes for their kids.

I have witnessed many friends go bankrupt because they were unable to service their relatively small debts, though they have hundreds of thousands of ringgit in their EPF accounts. There is also a friend now who is in deep financial problem, and he is short of four months to being 55 years, and has substantial savings in his EPF account, but is begging friends and relatives for a loan.

If this is not mockery, tell me what is? Now the EPF is after the cheats...but who are the cheats? Certainly not the members. Can one cheat one of one's own money?

To most people the unforeseeable future is meaningless when the present is very bleak; who cares about being 55 when you're not sure you can survive 40?

If the EPF cares, it isn't showing.

EPF needs to sincerely rethink this whole idea of savings, and revamp the present archaic schemes, and come out with a more positive plan which can really benefit the members, instead of only thinking about re-investments and gains that benefit the regulators alone, although they do pass on some pennies back to the members in the form of 'dividends'.

The EPF should re-think to re-establish itself as serving its members, and to involve itself in their welfare and needs, and should cease functioning as an investing corporeal and/or financier to anyone else except to its own members. After all it's their money.

Else, I suggest that they rename themselves to Employees Providing Funds.