KUALA LUMPUR: It is not compulsory for Muslim contributors to transition to the Employees Provident Fund’s Simpanan Shariah account, but the Prime Minister believes the handsome 6.3% dividend declared for the scheme would encourage some to make the move.
“This record (dividend) will on its own encourage Muslim contributors to transfer their savings to the syariah-compliant account.
"We don’t have plans to make it compulsory,” Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said during Prime Minister’s Question Time in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (March 4).
“But with this record and engagement sessions we have conducted, we hope the numbers will increase."
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He said it is important to explain the benefits of syariah financial instruments to contributors.
Anwar acknowledged previous criticisms on the performance of the syariah account, which yielded lower dividends compared to the conventional account.
However, he said, both accounts recorded the same dividend last year thanks to the EPF’s good management.
Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin) had asked if the government plans to make it compulsory for Muslim contributors to contribute to Simpanan Shariah.
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On Saturday (March 1), the EPF declared a dividend rate of 6.3% for conventional savings with the total payout amounting to RM63.05bil and a similar rate for syariah savings with the payout totalling RM10.19bil.
This is the second-highest dividend payout for Simpanan Shariah since its inception in 2017.
