Gerakan president Dominic Lau has pinned blame on Pakatan Harapan for what is likely to be a lower dividend payout by the Employees Provident Fund.

Lau said the reason for this was due to stock market losses suffered by EPF, which he attributed to Harapan's "flip-flop government policies".

“IJM Corporation Bhd, Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) and Gamuda Bhd (shares) are among the companies affected by the cancellation of infrastructure projects," he said in a statement today.

Lau blamed Harapan's policies for what he said was now a downturn in the domestic economy, foreign currency volatility, and a loan growth slowdown in the banking sector.

He added that foreign investors have also sold off RM21.9 billion in Malaysian bonds, the highest since 2008.

“Such a huge selloff shows only one thing – financial market investors’ confidence in our government and our country’s stocks valuation has gone down the drain.

"Our Finance Minister (Lim Guan Eng) needs to stop staying on cloud nine after the election, and start having plans to address the economic situation and face reality," he said.

EPF paid out a dividend of 6.9 percent for conventional savings and 6.4 percent for syariah savings in 2017.

The 2017 payout was the highest in two decades. However, the payout is expected to be lower for 2018 amid a weak stock market and a high base.

EPF chairperson Samsudin Osman remained coy when asked about the payout yesterday.

“You can imagine the market condition. At what level, I cannot say and I can’t give an answer. 

"We have to look at what happened last year to know whether it is good or bad," he had said.