KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Muslim Consumers Association (PPIM) urges the government to allow Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors to withdraw from their Account 1, for one last time, for the sake of the people’s survival.
PPIM lead activist Datuk Nadzim Johan said such a move would bring a huge relief, especially to those who are still struggling financially after being put through a series of movement controls which left a huge socio-economic impact.
He said PPIM is now formally suggesting to the government that EPF contributors be allowed to do a one-off withdrawal of RM10,000 from their Account 1, for one last time.
“The amount suggested is for those who have sufficient balance to make such withdrawals from their accounts.
“We are suggesting a reasonable amount for withdrawals. If the contributor has less than RM10,000 in his or her account, then we are suggesting for a reasonable amount to be withdrawn.
“We believe that this would help, especially for those who have lost their jobs and are still struggling to land a new one. It is simply to help those who are still facing financial struggles.
“This amount, which is their money, would help them to pay their bills or debts, especially before the moratorium on loans ends this year,” Nazim told reporters when met at Jalan Bukit Pantai, Bangsar, here, today.
Earlier, PPIM handed over a memorandum of demand and petition of support for the RM10,000 EPF withdrawals to Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Also present during the brief handover was Azmi Mohd Tahir, an EPF contributors who clarified that the memorandum was given to Najib as he has been championing this issue on his social media pages.
“We turned to him (Najib) for help to bring this matter to those in power, and to Parliament to be debated.
“We received around 50,000 to 60,000 virtual signatures from fellow EPF contributors who support for further withdrawals, and the signatures kept on coming,” he said.
Azmi, who is pleading to the government to allow for another EPF withdrawal, stressed that such a move would help many sectors of the public.
“This would not only help those who are still financially affected due to the pandemic, but it would also help victims of the recent big flood disaster.
“However, the bigger picture to look at, here, is that many of us have been stripped of so much of what we had during the pandemic. We lost jobs. We are struggling to make ends meet until today.
“This memorandum and the petition is proof that this plea comes from the rakyat, and I hope the government will consider our plea,” he said.
It was reported on Jan 5 that Pertubuhan Aktivis Rakyat Malaysia (ProRakyat) made a similar call to the government, in allowing EPF contributors to make further withdrawals of RM10,000 on a one-off basis for one last time.
On Jan 4, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had said that any additional withdrawal would force EPF to divest its investments.
He had said such a move would then reduce the members’ dividends, and thus give a knock-on impact on the bond and stock markets.
Article by: New Straits Times
PPIM JOINS CHORUS OF BODIES URGING GOVERNMENT TO ALLOW FURTHER EPF WITHDRAWALS