Epf Act Allows For Urgent Withdrawals Says Umno Youth

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Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said the withdrawals from EPF would help those facing difficulties and have lost their jobs.PETALING JAYA: Umno Youth’s request for contributors to make withdrawals of up to RM10,000 from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) is not unusual, says its chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki.
He said under Section 54 (K) (L) of the EPF Act 1992, contributors were allowed to withdraw money if they desperately needed it.
“We are talking about those who are facing difficulties and have lost their jobs. We have 6.83 million contributors with savings of RM10,000 and above.
“There are other amendments to the Act under clause (M) that allow withdrawals due to pandemic factors.
“As such, this request is not unusual because it is allowed by law and the EPF Act,” he said at a forum titled “KWSP: Lega sekarang, susah kemudian?” on Thursday.
Asyraf said this when rebutting the argument of another panelist in the forum, Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Abdul Karim, who said that EPF money cannot be withdrawn because 45% of contributors had savings of RM10,000 or less.
He added that EPF withdrawals should be a last resort as the government, which currently has a debt of RM1 trillion, found it difficult to provide assistance in large amounts.
Earlier, finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz had also closed the door on additional withdrawals from EPF, saying it would only burden the next generation which would have to care for the elderly with no retirement savings.
Asyraf said people would use their EPF money to spend on their needs, and this in turn would help drive the growth of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“Based on the study by the Social Wellbeing Research Centre (SWRC) of Universiti Malaya, money from EPF is used to pay debts and for parents to buy education devices for children to attend home-based teaching and learning (PdPR).
“Records show that the government can only help provide devices for 150,000 students who follow the PdPR.
“For the remaining 4.8 million students, their parents may have to use money from EPF to buy devices for online learning,” he said.
Further citing a study by the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER), Asyraf said a one percent increase in GDP growth would potentially create 70,000 new jobs. This in turn could provide employment opportunities for people who have lost their jobs during the various movement control orders imposed during Covid-19.
He said 140,608 had lost their jobs and 500,000 people in the M40 group had been pushed to the B40 lower-income group due to the pandemic.
Another 10,680 had gone bankrupt between March 2020 and July 2021, adding that 100,000 business premises had also closed. - FMT

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