JOHOR BARU: Johor Perikatan Nasional has lauded the government’s decision to remove all eligibility conditions for the i-Sinar withdrawal facility for Employees Provident Fund (EPF) members.
Its secretary Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal (pic) said that the move brings joy to the public who are suffering from financial burden due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“I would like to thank Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the Finance Ministry for bringing the good news to the public.
“The removal of the conditions shows that the Prime Minister cares about the plight of the public. It surely was not an easy decision for the government to make and was not a decision that could be made immediately merely to gain political mileage.
“I believe that upon reviewing and in-depth research on the matter, the government came to a conclusion that it was the right move to make to reduce the people’s burden, ” he said in a statement here on Friday (Feb 12).
Dr Sahruddin, who is the Bukit Kepong assemblyman, also urged the public to refer to EPF to get verified information on the i-Sinar facility from time to time.
“I also urge the public to adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP) outlined by the government under the movement control order, ” he said, adding that he hopes the Covid-19 pandemic would end soon.
On Thursday (Feb 11), Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Aziz said that the EPF is working towards removing all eligibility conditions for the i-Sinar withdrawal facility.
He said the decision was based on the advice of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for EPF to improve the initiative after taking into consideration public feedback.
“This, in turn, will assist members, to tide them through the ongoing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic, ” he said.
The Star in its front page story on Wednesday (Feb 10) revealed that eligibility criteria for the i-Sinar facility were to be relaxed to give more EPF members the option of withdrawing money from Account 1 to meet living needs.
Sources said the current withdrawal eligibility criteria of a 30% drop in income was quite limited in view of the existing MCO and its effect on the economy and the general public.
