Shahidan slammed for wanting mega Aidilfitri EPF withdrawal, dividend transfer to Account 3

 

PAS supreme council member Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim has come under fire from presumably Madani backers for mooting a mega Aidilfitri withdrawal for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members “who are truly affected by the cost-of-living pressure”.

Slamming the Perikatan Nasional (PN) Arau MP was social media influencer Roman Akramovich (@SyedAkramin) who is dead worried that a 2023 data has pointed to the median EPF savings balance for Malays having stood at a mere RM5,500.

“What more special withdrawal do you want? Do you want the Malays to eat sand after retirement?” he berated. “This is a brainless populist proposal.”

Just as EPF had unveiled its 2025 dividend of 6.15% dividend for both the conventional and syariah savings on Saturday (Feb 28), Shahidan urged the Madani government to examine possibility of a mega Aidilfitri withdrawal on a targeted and conditional basis to those who are truly affected by spiralling cost-of-living.

Additionally, the former Perlis menteri besar and UMNO warlord has also requested Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to channel the dividend proceeds to Account 3 instead of Account 1 to facilitate withdrawal by needy contributors.

Interestingly, many Malay EPF members seem to concur with Roman Akramovich with one attesting to “the promise of EPF withdrawals being one of the attractions for people to vote for PN”.

“This is a true story. A friend once said, ‘I want to vote for PN, then I can withdraw from EPF’,” he shared. “This was the last GE (general election) yet the same capital is recycled. Don’t fall for this offer.”

Another chastised the former minister in the Prime Minister’s Department during the Najib administration in that “the suggestion comes from someone who is loaded with tens of thousands in pension”.

“Then when your EPF money runs out, do you think they care?” he directed to staunch PN supporters.

Another warned the walaun (diehard PAS backers) fraternity against falling for Shahidan who is portraying himself as a hero without realising that they are sacrificing their own future by withdrawing their EPF savings which are meant to tide them over at old age.

Some even mocked Shahidan to fork out money from his own pocket to fund his mega Aidilfitri withdrawal idea.

Others went on to caution their Opposition-slant brethren against allowing PAS to administer the country “lest the Malays and the country are subject to destruction” with Islam being manipulated and the nation remaining impoverished” given the Islamist party’s narrow growth mindset.

Another expressed hope that under the Madani rule, “Malays can be more competitive and able to advance further than previously without relying upon corruption and Ali Baba business”.

Back to the subject of mega Aidilfitri withdrawal, few commenters revealed that it was easy for Shahidan to moot the idea when “he has already made RM400 mil from selling Bernas shares till he and few generations of his descendants no longer need to rely on EPF savings”.

The bottom-line as some commenters wondered is whether Shahidan has “opened his mouth without using his head, hence he should contemplate making way for a more qualified successor come GE16″.

Likewise, if his idea were to backfire in that Malays have exhausted their life savings in the future, there are “always high chances that DAP will have to take the rap”.

- Focus malaysia