PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) should consider freezing EPF payments from both employers and employees for three months from April to June 2020, said Grant Thornton Malaysia PLT country managing partner Datuk NK Jasani (pix).
“To ensure that this is not misused by the employers, there can be condition that this concession is only allowed if the employers do not terminate or retrench any of the employees for the period of nine months until December 2020,“ he said in a statement today.
He said although the EPF had reduced the employee’s contribution from 11% to 7% for six months and allows employees to withdraw RM500 per month from their own savings, these measures do not help the SMEs’ tight cashflow.
EPF will assess the specific conditions of the affected companies under its Employer Advisory Services. EPF had mentioned it could, on case-by-case basis, offer staggered payments for outstanding contributions.
“Unfortunately, employers will then find themselves having to make deferred payments as well as the current payments together later. This represents double payment in the context of cashflow during a time of protracted economic recovery. In essence, employers are just differing and snowballing their cashflow problems,“ said Jasani.
Malaysian businesses – both big and small - are severely impacted by the double whammy arising from curtailed operations during the movement control order and the downward spiralling economy worldwide.
“EPF is one authority which could and should do more for the SMEs and the overall Malaysian corporate sector. EPF should seriously consider this to help keep afloat businesses as well as employment.”
source https://www.thesundaily.my/business/grant-thornton-freeze-epf-payments-for-3-months-EE2237732
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