By Irfan Syahmi
KUALA LUMPUR – The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributors who wish to make a one-off withdrawal of up to RM10,000 may begin to apply for the facility today.
Most of the EPF members, especially those affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and recent floods expressed their gratitude and relief as they can use their retirement savings for their children’s school expenditure and Ramadan preparation.
An observation by MalaysiaGazette at the Jalan Raja Laut EPF Headquarters found that many contributors were updating their personal information and checking their account balance there.
Aishah Hashim, 20, said that she came to the EPF to check her Account 1 balance as she had made several withdrawals previously due to financial problems.
“If it’s possible, I want to wait until I’m 55 years old although it takes time. I want to withdraw the money now to buy essential items,” she told MalaysiaGazette today.
According to her, she was affected by the Movement Control Order (MCO) and she could not work as she was pregnant. She is grateful for the government’s approval to withdraw the EPF savings to reduce her financial burden.
Azmi Yahya, 53, went to the EPF office to update his bank account and telephone numbers to ease his application process for the withdrawal of the retirement fund.
When asked about replacing the amount of withdrawal, he said, “I don’t care about the 20 percent return. I don’t want to think about that, I withdraw because I need that money.”
He added, even if the government grants another withdrawal in the future, many people will still choose to do so as many people are unemployed and need money.
Meanwhile, Farid Shafii, 47, was impressed with the systematic EPF system when he was updating his account as it took not more than 30 minutes.
Farid also shared his financial hardship during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We are going to fast after this. The children just started school. During the Covid-19, I did a small business while selling cars. However, the income was bad as many people were living in fear,” he told MalaysiaGazette
Nevertheless, he felt relieved when the government announced the endemic transition phase and the approval to withdraw EPF savings of up to RM10,000 to restimulate the people’s lives.
He also advised the people to only withdraw the savings if they truly need it.
Syed Arif Fakrul, 27, also shared that he will be withdrawing the EPF savings as his wedding preparation.
He was laid off from the hotel sector during the MCO in Terengganu and has been haunted by financial woes. He is finally relieved when he is allowed to withdraw his retirement funds.
“It felt like my burdens were lifted,” he said.
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