KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has encouraged the people to save through Amanah Dana Anak Malaysia 2050 (ADAM50) for their well being.
In promoting savings and investment culture among Malaysian, the prime minister shared a six-minute informative video on ADAM50 on his Facebook page today.
The video, featuring Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB) chairman Tan Sri Abdul Wahid Omar, garnered more than 700 likes within three hours after it was posted.
Many netizens praised Najib for giving the people a headstart in life through ADAM50.
In quoting Wahid, Najib said: "RM200 is just the beginning. We expect that people will top up from time to time and the RM200 cannot be withdrawn until they reach 18 years old.
Announced by the government in the 2018 Budget, ADAM50 is the first of its kind in the country's history and a gift for the Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50) generation.
Under ADAM50, a baby will receive RM200 as long as he or she is registered within a year of the date of birth.
From Jan 1 to 2022, the government will give an initial savings of RM200 via Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB) units for Bumiputera and Amanah Saham 1Malaysia (AS1M) for non-Bumiputera.
They will receive 200 free incentive trust fund units, which will be credited automatically in the unit trust funds managed by Amanah Saham Nasional Bhd (ASNB) - a wholly-owned subsidiary of PNB - after the registration process was completed by their parents or guardian.
Prior to this announcement, ASNB unit trust funds are open to individuals as early as six months of age. But with ADAM50 now, all Malaysian babies born in 2018-2022 will have an account with the government, with PNB providing the initial incentive units.
Additionally, as part of PNB's effort to encourage additional investments in the infants' accounts, the parents or guardians of non-Bumiputera infants can also invest up to 50,000 units.
The cost for ADAM50 in the next five years is about RM560 million and will benefit 2.8 million Malaysian babies.