PUTRAJAYA should provide more cash aid to the people instead of asking them to dip into their Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) savings, said the Malaysian Trades Union Congress today.

The government should end the i-Lestari account 2 EPF withdrawal as this is eating into their savings, said MTUC secretary-general J. Solomon.

EPF said recently a majority of the 4.1 million for the i-Lestari account 2 withdrawals are those from the B40 income group.

A total of RM1.94 billion had been withdrawn up to June 5 under the scheme.

“According to EPF chief executive officer Tunku Alizakri Alias, they are worried because some members have already exhausted their account 2 after two months of withdrawing RM500 per month.

“And that’s only RM1,000 in account 2,” Solomon said in a statement.

He said the government must convert this scheme to a RM500 a month cash aid for the B40 with immediate effect.

“This will help the B40 workers keep their EPF savings for their old age.”

The i-Lestari scheme is one of the measures to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.

All EPF members under the age of 55 can make a monthly withdrawal of up to RM500 for 12 months beginning April 1.

In April, EPF approved 3.5 million withdrawals amounting to RM1.66 billion.

Putrajaya should tap its reserves and cut operational costs and overheads in GLCs and government departments, Solomon said.

The burden will fall on the government when the B40 run out of savings or if their children can’t afford to take care of them, he added.

“We hope the government’s financial and economic advisers will see this obvious adverse effect and understand the need for this category of workers to be given this RM500 a month until December.”

According to the Department of Statistics’ salary and wages survey report 2018, half of Malaysia’s 8.8 million wage earners earned less than RM2,308 a month in 2018 and the B40 group is defined as those with household income of less than RM4,360 per month. – June 19, 2020.