PUTRAJAYA: The government has recorded up to RM11 billion in unclaimed money since 1977 till March this year, said Ahmad Maslan.
Speaking at a press conference, the deputy finance minister said the government had received a total of RM14.1 billion from various firms during that time.
A total of RM3.2 billion of the unclaimed money had been refunded to their rightful owners.
“We have received 354,912 online applications,” said Ahmad at the accountant-general’s department (JANM) today.
To generate greater public awareness on the issue, the department is developing an application called eGumis Mobile which is expected to go live in the fourth quarter of this year.
Ahmad said the government is also planning to amend the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965 and the bill would be tabled in the Dewan Rakyat by the end of the year.
“This will ensure a more efficient management of the unclaimed money, while improving companies’ adherence to the Unclaimed Moneys Act 1965.”
Among the amendments being proposed include reducing the period of transferring the unclaimed money to the consolidated revenue account to 10 years instead of 15 years.
Jamal’s appointment ‘not a problem’
Meanwhile, Ahmad said Jamal Yunos’ appointment to the Selangor Umno committee is not a problem, even though he was being investigated for allegedly paying off delegates during party elections recently.
“That is a small matter. He has not been found guilty, of course it’s all right,” said Ahmad.
Jamal received his appointment letter yesterday from Selangor Umno chief Megat Zulkarnain Omardin.
Last Monday, Utusan Malaysia reported that Jamal was summoned by the party’s disciplinary board after he was alleged to have bribed 12 delegates to cast their ballots for him during Umno’s elections.
At the same time, Ahmad also reiterated Putrajaya’s stance that they would not allow anymore EPF withdrawals, including targeted withdrawals.
However, he thanked former second finance minister Johari Ghani for his views on the matter. Johari had said it was more straightforward to allow direct EPF withdrawals in cases of emergency instead of letting members use their retirement savings to back their application for bank loans.
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