GEORGE TOWN – Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz needs to review certain Budget 2021 items, such as Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawals and funding for some departments, said the Penang Malay Association (Pemenang).
Its president, Tan Sri Mohd Yussof Latiff, said the government may mean well, but allowing people to dip into their EPF savings, which are meant for retirement, is controversial and counterproductive.
He urged Tengku Zafrul to instead consider setting up a micro-loan scheme that allows workers to repay within a certain number of years.
“This is better than allowing workers to seek out illegal loan sharks.”
He said EPF savings should be strictly retained as retirement funds for private sector workers, who do not have a pension system in place like that available to the public sector.
The government can guarantee a few loan schemes as of now, putting cash into people’s hands to amplify the need for an economic multiplier effect.
“If there is a healthy domestic consumption rate despite the presence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the economy can slowly recover,” said Yussof.
He added that members of Pemenang, which is the country’s oldest Malay organisation, are disturbed by the huge allocation for the public sector, when the people in real need are those employed in the private sector.
“It is the private sector that is laying off workers and reducing salaries.
“The emphasis must be on stimulating the economy by expanding it to include the worst-hit sectors, such as tourism, trade and property.”
When those who are at rock bottom begin to spend more, it will create a cyclical effect in the economy, encouraging spending and, in turn, business activities to meet demand, he said.
Yussof urged Zafrul to halve the RM81 million set aside for the Special Affairs Unit, better known as Jasa, under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry.
The remaining sum can be used in far more productive areas, such as aiding workers who have been retrenched, helping boost entrepreneurship among hundreds of unemployed graduates or investing in retraining, he said. – The Vibes, November 8, 2020
