FORMER premier Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri is currently advocating for withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), an action that was permitted during his brief tenure as prime minister.
However, this morning, a significant number of social media users have taken to his Twitter account to express their opposition to such a proposal and provide information on the potential negative consequences.
On the other hand, analysts have also noted that allowing withdrawals from the EPF would likely result in increased inflation rather than resolving individual financial difficulties.
Furthermore, the EPF would be required to adjust its portfolio by prematurely selling assets, particularly those invested overseas, to accommodate the increased cash outflow.
Additionally, it has been pointed out that such withdrawals would likely prove ineffective as many individuals may have already depleted their savings through prior withdrawals.
User @AmadHamka questioned:
Dah kalau semua nak keluar kwsp,nnti bila dah tua tak boleh kerja nak dpt duit mana?kita bukan YB dapat pencen sampai mati
— Amad Hamka (@AmadHamka) January 22, 2023
(If everyone wants to withdraw from EPF, where will we get money when we are old and we can’t work? We can’t get a pension until we die.)
Ismail did not reply to any of the comments, whether they are in favour of his call or against it, and this diminishes his commitment to getting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to even listen to his call for another round of EPF withdrawal.
Nevertheless, Twitter user @FareezMohd3 said:
Ko dah xde idea ke…asyik2 kluakn KWSP…BANGANG ke ape..tu simpanan masa depan rakyat ko tau x..ko tu lain la,duit berjuta dah..klu dilayan nk kluakan KWSP,baik xpyah jadi kerajaan,baik xpyah simpan… bengong mail ni…
— Fareez Mohd (@FareezMohd3) January 22, 2023
(This is stupid. Don’t you know that this is savings for people’s future? For you it is different, you have millions. If every time people have to withdraw their savings, then we don’t need a government or we do not need to save in EPF. Useless Ismail.)
Meanwhile, user ACAP6439 suggested the following:
Rasanya boleh kot ubah had umur pengeluaran ke 50/45 tahun.. bawah dari tu takyah bagi keluar lagi.. cukup la 3/4 kali keluar yg lepas tu.. hidup panjang lagi.. kalau gaji sebulan 10k-20k ok lagi.. ni masih 1.5k min.. 🫠
— AM (@ACAP6439) January 22, 2023
(Maybe the age limit for EPF withdrawals should be lowered from 50 to 45. Below that age, no withdrawal is allowed because enough money would have been withdrawn before that. Life is long, if your salary is between RM10k to 20k, it’s ok, but now the minimum wage is only RM1,500.)
Moreover, user @roc_hakim explained what happens when people are allowed to withdraw their life savings.
nk keluarkan kwsp alasan susah.Ok bg keluar la katakan, ko senang kejap je pastu ko susah balik.Time tu dah xde saving dah.Nak harap buat saving bulanan mmg xdak la dah mmg susah.Eii x faham ak,berkurun lama dah kwsp xkluar ok je. zaman gawat dlu pon xde kluar jgk blh je survive.
— 6 Hakim ROC (@roc_hakim) January 22, 2023
(Let’s say they are allowed to do so. They will get relief for a short while, but soon they will be in trouble again and will need cash handouts again. At that time, there are no savings, what will they depend on? From the time they take out the EPF savings, they will not have enough to put back into the EFP because they don’t have money to save.)
Those who did not take out their EPF are doing okay, and if people do not take out their EPF, they will also survive, the user added. — Jan 23, 2023
