The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) today condemned the recent move by the government to allow workers to withdraw part of their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings for their children's education or for buying computers, saying that this expense was the social responsibility of the government.

PSM chairman Dr Nasir Hashim said that the government should stop passing the buck but instead find an alternative to help workers.

"By allowing the EPF withdrawals, they are resolving the short-term problem but killing the workers off in the long term," Nasir told malaysiakini today.

The provision to withdraw EPF savings to buy personal computers under the Children's Education Withdrawal Scheme was announced by Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin in the re-tabled Budget 2000 last month.

Under the provision, contributors will be allowed to withdraw a maximum of RM5,000 from Account II to purchase PCs for their children who are pursuing degree courses.

Nasir added that the government should just leave the EPF money alone as it is the only savings that workers have for their future after retirement.

"People need money all the time and when they see an alternative like this, they will want to take the money out. They are more concerned with their immediate needs. It is a very dangerous precedent and the government should come up with some other strategy," he added.

Nasir suggested that the government could provide some form of subsidy for education and the purchase of computers or employers could provide an instalment scheme.

Meanwhile, PSM secretary general S. Arutchelvam stated that the government has been in the last 15 years, slowly washing its hands off fundamental responsibilities such as healthcare and education.

"People are forced to pay for quality services, which previously have been free. The move will definitely benefit the capitalists and take away some responsibility from the government. The real losers will be the (EPF) contributors," Arutchelvam said.

The New Straits Times newspaper today reported that application forms for the PC purchase will be made available at all EPF state offices nationwide from April 1.

The daily quoted EPF's deputy chief executive officer II Rusma Ibrahim who said that approval for the applications would not take more than two weeks.