Tengku Zafrul denies resigning!
Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul posted a Facebook post on March 17 to refute reports that Malay media had asked whether Zafrul had resigned. Zafrul said he did not attend the parliamentary question and answer session this morning, which had been planned, and that he had urgent personal matters to attend to this morning.
Since the Prime Minister’s announcement yesterday that people would again be able to withdraw money from their provident funds, there have been rumors on the Internet about whether Zafrul would resign as Finance Minister. The issue stems from Zafrul’s statement in January this year that he would not approve further withdrawals from the CPF unless he resigned from his post as finance minister.
In January, Zafrul said that it would be useless for the people to approve further withdrawals from the CPF and that it would have a negative impact on those who have even less money in their CPF accounts. Zafrul said it was not just a matter of CPF withdrawals, but a matter of right and wrong, and there was no reason for the government to compromise.
At the time, Zafrul said that if the government continues to allow members to withdraw from their EPF accounts, it will result in a majority of members living below the average poverty line (PGK) after retirement. Approving additional EPF withdrawals would create a vicious circle and eventually the government would have to impose additional taxes on the next generation to pay for the current withdrawal costs.
