EMPLOYEES’ Provident Fund chief executive officer Shahril Ridza Ridzuan today dismissed former prime minister Najib Razak’s alarmist remarks about the plunge in stock markets.

“The activity in the stock market (Bursa Malaysia) is healthy, and we are not worried. Ups and downs in the market are normal. We should bear in mind not to look at the market for the short term. We need to look at three to four years,” he said after meeting the Council of Eminent Persons at Ilham Tower in Kuala Lumpur today.

Former Umno president Najib had taken to social media to troll Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, blaming him for scaring investors and the stock market with the announcement that the country’s debt had exceeded RM1 trillion.

“We congratulate the new government for unnecessarily spooking the market which has led to sharp falls of our stock exchange this week – capping 14 consecutive days of foreign capital outflows,” Najib wrote last Friday.

In response, Lim said stock markets worldwide including Thailand were experiencing a slump due to various factors.

Lim said Malaysia’s stock market was not just responding negatively to revelations regarding the RM1 trillion national debt and the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal.

Shahril Ridza added that there was no discussion on toll abolition during the meeting with the Council of Eminent Persons.

“The meeting today was to explain what EPF has implemented for the members and how we invest. Tolls were not discussed,” he said.

EPF has stakes in PLUS Expressways Bhd, which operates five major highways, including the North-South Highway, Elite Highway, the second Malaysia-Singapore crossing, and the Penang Bridge.

It also has 40% stakes in Konsortium Lebuhraya Utara-Timur (KL) Sdn Bhd, the concession holder of the Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway. – May 28, 2018.