As a result of the latest scandals involving public trust and provident funds, various initiatives are needed to ensure greater accountability and transparency of their operations.
As one such step, a protem committee for a EPF Contributors’ Association is being formed to protect the rights and interests of the 9.7 million EPF contributors whose total funds are in the region of RM181 billion. The payment of the lowest EPF dividend in 25 years when 6% dividend was declared for last year has made such an organisation of EPF members even more urgent and imperative.
The EPF Contributors Association should set up a EPF Watchdog Panel to scrutinise into various aspects of EPF management, investment decision-making, accountability and good corporate governance.
Last year, EPF invested RM39.46 billion in equity, and in the past five years, EPF had been one of the "movers and shakers" of the stock market. EPF contributors are entitled to know the full list of the shares which the EPF Investment Panel had bought with their EPF monies so that they could give their inputs about these equity investments.
Last year, EPF invested RM37.63 billion in loans and bonds. These are astronomical sums and the list of the beneficiaries of huge EPF loans should be made public in keeping with the highest standards of good corporate governance.
The EPF Contributors Association, when formed, should scrutinise into these gargantuan investments in shares and loans to protect the RM181 billion funds of the 9.7 billion EPF contributors.
(24/3/2001)