Price tag: Strict conditions if gov't allows EPF withdrawals
KUALA LUMPUR: If the government were to allow withdrawals from Account 1 of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), strict conditions must be set to deter them from exhausting their savings.
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs senior economist Adli Amirullah said the public should also be educated on the implications of using up their retirement savings.
"For instance, a minimum withdrawal amount should be set, number of withdrawals should be capped and income bracket of contributors must be stated."
As an alternative, Adli said, the government should consider providing direct fiscal injections to ease the people's financial burdens.
He said this could be introduced in the form of cash handouts, wage subsidies and other forms of monetary aid.
"EPF money does not belong to the government. It is the employees' hard earned money. The idea of asking people to use their own savings to survive is really bad.
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