KUALA LUMPUR: The Alliance for Safe Community has urged Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors to think twice about any request to withdraw money from the their EPF Account 1.
Its chairman, Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye, said as the fund was instituted to provide savings for the future, withdrawals from the account was akin to "short term gain, long term pain".
"If therefore the funds are depleted or reduced prematurely, there will be adverse circumstances later in life when the need is greater. Although there are good reasons to permit such a request, there are also strong reasons on why all the rules covering the account should remain.
"There is no clear answer to the question of whether or not one should be allowed to withdraw their monies from the account as there are cogent reasons for both. In the final analysis, it is a question of what outweighs the other," he said in a statement today.
Lee said the government has been trying to help the rakyat by providing several relief packages since the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
"The government has disbursed short-term relief aid for the rakyat through Bantuan Prihatin Nasional, Bantuan Sara Hidup, a moratorium on the repayment of National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) loans and consumer loans.
"In the latest cash-aid given under the Kita Prihatin package, the (government) has set aside RM7 billion for disbursement between now and January 2021 for varying sums to be paid to B40 households, single parents and local workers in various fields and micro-traders in various fields. This covers the segments of the population who are in need the most.
"These payments should tide these target groups over a short-term period until they can get back on their own feet when the health and economic effects of Covid-19 wear off," he said.
Lee said EPF contributors should avoid breaking the piggy bank as nobody knows what the future holds.
"There's an old Chinese proverb that best describes the current situation; 'In every crisis, there are opportunities'.
"The current pandemic situation has thrown up new opportunities. We can take a leaf from the case of an overseas airline pilot who had lost his job and became a bus driver instead.
"The affected target group of workers are encouraged to venture into new field".
Lee said the country's population is ageing and therefore, there are more reasons for EPF contributors to think twice before withdrawing from Account 1.
"According to a Welfare Department survey, by the year 2035, the number of people above the age of 60 would constitute 15 per cent of the population and thus, we will be classified as an ageing nation.
"Would the country be able to cope with this large number from this segment if the elderly did not have savings to tide them over?
"The government would then be hard-pressed to provide for a quantum leap in ensuring adequate healthcare and related facilities.
"If we revise EPF rules to allow for partial withdrawal from Account 1, it must be done on a needs basis. Applicants must prove that they are in dire straits and without any other means of support.
"And then, there must be a cap on withdrawals, in terms of scope and number of withdrawals," he said.