Malaysians will be able tap the country's 924.75 billion ringgit ($208 billion) Employees Provident Fund, Kuala Lumpur, to help them navigate the economic fallout of the coronavirus, the government said.
Muhyiddin Yassin, who became prime minister three weeks ago in a dramatic political shakeup, told news media Monday that the country's more than 12 million EPF participants will be able to draw down a maximum of 500 ringgit each month from their EPF accounts, for the coming 12 months. The move, which begins in April, will help ensure they have sufficient funds to buy necessities at a time of economic dislocation.
The prime minister predicted the economic stabilization measure would put an additional 40 billion ringgit into the pockets of Malaysian citizens over the coming year.
That would amount to more than 4% of total EPF assets, as of Dec. 31, before the past month's coronavirus-fueled sell-off in global equities. The EPF reported just less than 40% of its portfolio was allocated to equities at the end of 2019.
