KUALA LUMPUR, March 9 — Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged the government to allow withdrawals from the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) immediately without any hindrances and bureaucracy.
Anwar said he decided to change his tune after receiving feedback from people who are struggling to get by.
“The number of people complaining to me continues to increase.
“And I continue to hear complaints from people who today are in a very desperate and depressing situation, especially in my ongoing tour across Johor,” he said in a statement today.
Anwar, who is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, had initially disagreed with the government’s move to allow withdrawals from the EPF, citing long-term repercussions on future savings.
“I also placed conditions on the then government to cover the losses suffered by the people due to the floods if the government refused to allow EPF withdrawals.
“However, months later, it seems that the government and Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Abdul Aziz did not heed this insistence,” he said.
In January, Anwar said EPF withdrawals should not be made too easy as it is a form of savings for the contributors’ future.
He said instead of allowing the withdrawal of EPF savings when disasters, especially floods, hit the country, the government could channel various forms of assistance to those affected instead.
