EPF withdrawal: Selangor MB advises against populist approach

 

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari has advised against short-term measures such as allowing a special withdrawal from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF), saying it is a populist approach.

Amirudin (above) said allowing another round of EPF withdrawal to those gravely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic would not be beneficial to either the government or the people as it causes dependency towards the government.

That measure, which was implemented by previous administrations led by former prime ministers Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob, is a policy that does not comprehensively consider all aspects and eventually resulted in disappointment, he added.

“That policy did not look into the development of human capital in the country and in the end, it only solved the problem in the short term.

“The implementation of this populist programme will ultimately cause dependency and that dependency will also cause disappointment in the short term,” he said.

Amirudin said this at a discourse on “Developing a Madani Nation” at Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) today, where he was a panelist alongside Institut Darul Ehsan (IDE) executive chairperson Prof Mohammad Redzuan Othman, Kolej Dar al-Hikmah president Prof Muhammad Nur Manuty and Universiti Putra Malaysia’s Institute for Social Science Studies (IPSAS) director Prof Haslinda Abdullah.

He stressed that the Covid-19 pandemic has posed a reminder to all parties that short-term assistance such as giving money handouts is not a solution to handle a crisis.

Elaborating on the matter, he also gave examples of the lockdown imposed during Muhyiddin’s administration to curb the spread of the Covid-19 virus, saying it had directly impacted the people and eventually led to the White Flag campaign and “failed government”.

“That translated into a change of government and a change of prime minister as well as other endless changes.

“When we speak about madani, we always look into the aspects that are contained in philosophy and civilisation.

“And that is why the development of policies cannot only be looked at through departments and groups, but it must reach the hearts of the people,” he added.

For the record, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration will be guided by the “Malaysia Madani” concept to replace Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Keluarga Malaysia tagline.

Madani is a word with Arabic roots that means “city” and is often associated with the Islamic holy city of Medina.

Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka defines madani as being "developed in terms of thinking, spirituality and materiality".

On Jan 15, a group of EPF contributors called on the government to consider another EPF early withdrawal of up to RM30,000.

However, Anwar dismissed such calls, pointing out that it would be better for the government to look into other effective options to help those affected by the pandemic.

The government, he said, would have to consider the plight and the future of EPF contributors before allowing another round of withdrawals, as many have little savings in their accounts.

Anwar, when he was still with the opposition, previously supported the movement to allow early withdrawals from EPF back in March 2022, despite being initially reluctant to do so.

This, he said, was because the then government had failed to use its coffers to address the people's financial problems and provide the necessary aid. - Mkini