KUALA LUMPUR: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) will work with the respective ministries and agencies to implement programmes listed under the 2020 Budget, its chief executive officer Tunku Alizakri Alias said.
He said the various programmes related to EPF are indeed a big responsibility and it is a privilege for the body to be able to play a part in creating a better Malaysia.
“We will be working with the respective ministries and agencies to implement these programmes and will make announcements in due course on the details of the implementation,” he said in a statement today.
Alizakri said the 2020 Budget takes into account fast changing demographics, the changing definitions of work and the work environment, and the issues surrounding social well-being generally.
“The EPF is pleased some of the social concerns we have often raised have been heard by the Government and reflected in the budget with unique solutions to the unique issues pertaining to the well-being of Malaysians,” he said.
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng when tabling the Supply Bill (Budget) 2020 in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday among others announced that the government would be introducing the Malaysians@Work initiative to create better working empolyment opportunities for Malaysians especially youth and women.
The initiative, to be managed by EPF aimed to reduce over-dependence on low-skilled foreign workers and is expected to create an additional 350,000 jobs for Malaysians in five years, according to Lim.
Additionally, the government also proposed a new withdrawal category to allow contributors of EPF to seek fertility treatment such as in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) procedure and an income tax relief of up to RM6,000 given on expenses incurred for medical treatment of serious illness would be expanded to include expenses incurred on fertility treatment.
Taking note on this, Alizakri said the EPF would be creating a new option under its account 2 for withdrawals for subfertility treatments.
“We recognise that children have direct and indirect benefits for families. Therefore the EPF is fully supportive, and will actively explore ways to balance the need between financial security and social well-being,” he said. — Bernama
