Loan Moratorium Epf Withdrawal Updates Soon As Lockdown Extension Looms

---

 



Updated announcements on loan moratoriums and Employee Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals via the i-Sinar facility will be made soon, said Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
This comes as the “total lockdown” is expected to be extended due to targets to ease some restrictions not being met.
“I have discussed this with the prime minister and the relevant agencies.
“The government hears the people’s voices and necessary help will be announced soon,” Zafrul said in a Facebook post on the issue of moratoriums and i-Sinar.
De facto vaccination minister Khairy Jamaluddin had previously said that Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would be announcing more economic assistance soon.
When the “total lockdown” came into force on June 1, the government gave a three-month loan moratorium to the B40 segment and to anyone who had lost their jobs.
Critics said the aid should have also been extended to the M40 group.
The i-Sinar facility introduced earlier this year allowed EPF contributors to withdraw their retirement savings from their Account 1.
The “total lockdown” or Phase 1 of the National Recovery Plan is set to expire on Monday.
However, the conditions set by Putrajaya to move into Phase 2 have not yet been met.
The main criteria to enter Phase 2 is for daily new Covid-19 cases to fall below 4,000, ICUs capacity to be at “moderate” levels, and for 10 percent of the population to be fully vaccinated.
Phase 2 will only see a slight easing of restrictions on business activity. Businesses that are allowed to operate can do so with 80 percent of their workforce present on the premises.
However, social sectors will still remain closed in the next phase. - Mkini

---