THE Perikatan Nasional government is willing to consider the demands made by Barisan Nasional (BN) to approve a one-off withdrawal from Account 1 of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and a loan moratorium extension for all, said Shahidan Kassim.

The PN Backbenchers’ Club (PNBBC) chairman said Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz has agreed to consider amending his Budget 2021 after strong calls made by allies and rivals in Dewan Rakyat for the changes to be made in order to gain support for the budget.

Shahidan said Zafrul could be announcing the changes even before the winding up of Budget 2021.

“Maybe an official announcement will be made before the winding up of the budget,” he said at a press conference in Parliament today.

He added that an extension of the moratorium for everyone will be put in place until June 2021.

The Umno leader also said with the changes made, there would be no problem for Budget 2021 to be approved in the Dewan Rakyat.

During the tabling of Budget 2021 last Friday, the government announced authorisation for EPF contributors to withdraw RM500 per month from their Account 1 for a period of 12 months, bringing the total amount to no more than RM6,000.

This is an additional RM6,000 to the withdrawal authorisation under the i-Lestari scheme from Account 2 announced in the economic stimulus package at the end of March.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin previously described BN’s proposal for the withdrawal of savings from the EPF Account 1 as difficult to implement and should be the last resort.

Likewise, the government had also rejected calls for the loan moratorium to be extended after it ended in September, saying that a targeted approach was in place for those in B40 groups to approach banks to seek extensions.

In the budget, the government had proposed that those in B40 group who are recipients of aid programmes as well as micro entrepreneurs will have the option to defer loan repayment for three months, or reduce their monthly instalment by up to 50% for six months.

While debating the budget yesterday, former prime minister and BN Backbenchers’ Club chairman Najib Razak said the coalition’s support for Budget 2021 was conditional upon the people being allowed to withdraw from the EPF and an automatic extension of the loan moratorium during Covid-19.

“I would like for the PN government to note that these two conditions have to be met. Our support for this budget is subject to these two conditions being met,” he stated during the budget debate in Parliament.

The Pekan MP added that the one-off withdrawal limit of up to RM10,000 was important as with that amount, Malaysians could repay all their pending payments such as utilities, insurance, housing instalments and such.

“The money could also be used as a basic capital for people who have lost their jobs to start a business. An example would be for someone to be able to buy a motorbike to join a delivery service to make an income. This cannot be done with only RM500 a month,” he said.

BN has proposed to increase the EPF withdrawal limit to RM10,000.

Najib said an extension of the moratorium was important in addressing the plight of middle-income earners.

Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim in his debate also called on the government to reconsider the limit of the RM500 monthly withdrawal from the EPF.

He said that RM500 was an insufficient amount to help any family, especially those from the lower income groups.

On loan moratorium, the Port Dickson MP said a blanket extension should be considered and stressed that banks would not lose money.

Support from BN is especially vital for Muhyiddin Yassin’s government to get the budget approved as there have been fears that MPs would block the passage of the budget and turn it into a no-confidence vote against Muhyiddin.

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong had earlier urged lawmakers from both sides of the political divide to support the Bill. – November 11, 2020.