KUALA LANGAT, July 9 — A purported announcement regarding the enforcement of the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) mandatory withdrawal at 55 is fake, Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said today.
Fahmi said he was earlier made aware of an alleged poster being circulated on social media claiming existing EPF contributors will not be able to withdraw their savings in full upon reaching 55 years of age following the implementation of the new policy.
“When I received the message, I immediately got in touch with EPF’s chief executive Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah himself for clarification.
“Subsequent to being informed of its authenticity, I have requested EPF to immediately provide clarification to the public,” he said in his speech at a government organised event in Kampung Bukit Changgang.
Fahmi then reminded those present to reach out to Madani Community — a body managed by the Information Department — if they have any doubts about unverified information they received for verification to be undertaken by the relevant agencies.
Separately, EPF reminded the public to be careful in sharing unverified information in a posting on Facebook and urged the public to obtain verified information through EPF’s official social media account and website.
On Thursday, prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said his government has not ruled out the possibility of considering making periodic or monthly withdrawals, which is currently voluntary, mandatory upon reaching the retirement age of 55, for new contributors in the future.
However, Anwar said he was informed by Amir Hamzah that there had been “some opposition” to its proposed policy from contributors who had not much savings in their accounts.
