i-Sinar best option for targeted groups, says economist

KUALA LUMPUR – The withdrawal of savings by Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members under the i-Sinar programme is the best option for targeted groups to help them survive the post-pandemic situation, an economist said.

Bank Islam Malaysia Bhd chief economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid said the scheme was aimed at helping affected people who have lost their jobs and are subjected to salary cut.

“There is a need for cash assistance in the immediate term and withdrawing their EPF savings is one of the means to alleviate their financial predicament,” he told Bernama.

However, he said there was also a need to ensure the EPF members' savings for retirement are to be preserved as more people tend to live longer these days.

He said better coordination between various measures implemented by the government was crucial in ensuring that everyone knows where to look for help.

“What matters now is the effective delivery of these measures such as cash transfer programme via Bantuan Prihatin Nasional (BPN), Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat (BPR), targeted financial assistance offered by the banks, grants, job matching, Employment Insurance Scheme (EIS) among others,” he added.

Meanwhile, MauKerja.my chief executive officer Ray Teng said the latest EPF scheme should only be utilised by those who lost their jobs and experiencing major cash flow issues.

“There are pros and cons to this issue. People do have a choice whether to use the programme or not but if you really need the cash and there is no other way, you should make use of the programme,” he said.

However, he said i-Sinar is a temporary measure for people to use their retirement savings and continue to survive financially but would cost them and EPF some future investment fund cash flow.

“Of course, if you decide that there is no need for you to use your savings through the i-Sinar programme, EPF will have more money for investment which will benefit us in terms of dividend in the future,” said Teng.

On Monday, the EPF announced that i-Sinar would benefit two million eligible members with an estimated advance amount of RM14 billion to be made available.

Eligible members will have access to the advance of RM9,000 for those with Account 1 savings of RM90,000 and below, and up to RM60,000 for those having more than RM90,000 in Account 1. – Bernama, November 18, 2020