KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s move to remove all conditions for the i-Sinar facility will enable more Malaysians to benefit from the initiative in light of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Aziz said the government was always concerned about the difficulties faced by the people during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO) to combat the spread of the Covid 19 pandemic.
“I am sure this is a very much awaited development. I hope that this i-Sinar facility will to some extent reduce the burden faced by the people,” he said in the 43rd Implementation and Coordination Unit Between National Agencies (Laksana) report today.
Tengku Zafrul said applications made for i-Sinar before February 25 would be given approval in stages and payment be made from March 2.
He said this involved applications that were still waiting for approval and those which were not approved, before improvements were made to the i-Sinar criteria.
“Meanwhile, new applications reflecting the abolition of the criteria will be open from March 8, 2021 to all members under the age of 55, subject to the balance in the member’s Account 1.
“Starting March 8, 2021, members will be given the flexibility to make amendments to the application details such as the amount applied for, bank information, address, telephone number and payment mode on the i-Sinar Online site,” he said.
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Tengku Zafrul said as at February 19 this year, cumulative withdrawal stood at RM18.10 billion and involved 5.16 million recipients (compared to RM17.67 billion and involving 5.15 million recipients from the previous week).
“Retirement planning is crucial, and the people are encouraged to utilise the free Retirement Advisory Service provided by the Employees Provident Fund,” he said.
The total payment of the i-Sinar facility as well as the maximum payment schedule for six months will remain, as previously informed.
According to the EPF, those who have RM100,000 and below (Account 1) would have access to any withdrawal amount of up to RM10,000, with the payments staggered over six months with the first payment of up to RM5,000.
“For those who have above RM100,000 (Account 1), they have access to up to 10 per cent of their Account 1 savings.
“However, the maximum total amount withdrawal allowed is RM60,000, with the payments staggered over six months with the first payment of up to RM10,000,” it said.- NST