Hands off hard-earned EPF money, BN told

Feb 1: Petaling Jaya Utara member of parliament Tony Pua said the Barisan Nasional government should not use people's hard-earned savings in the Employees Provident Fund to finance its politically motivated projects.

In response to Federal Territories and Urban Well-being minister Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin’s announcement that RM1.5 billion from EPF would be used to finance low-cost and affordable housing schemes launched by the government, Pua said the EPF was not set up for such a purpose.

“The EPF is not a lender of the last resort for the poor and neither is it a social welfare organisation.  By utilising RM1.5 billion of Malaysian workers’ monies to lend to house-buyers who are unable to secure financing from commercial banks will only jeopardise their retirement funds and is clearly an abuse by the Government,” he said in his statement to Harakahdaily.

The special housing scheme launched by prime minister Najib Razak, according to Nong Chik, targeted those who could not obtain home loans, retirees and those who do not have steady income but eligible to buy houses.

The loans would be repaid over a period of 15 to 25 years with interest rates lower than banks'.

Pua (left) reminded that the objective of the EPF was to “protect the hard-earned retirement income of 11 million working Malaysians, by maximising returns with the lowest possible investment risk”.

He also warned that the latest move would set a precedent for future abuses of the EPF under the guise of social welfare to finance programmes that were in fact to woo votes.

“It is a slippery slope which will jeopardise the future savings of Malaysian EPF members,” said Pua, adding that the government should source its funding elsewhere.