NEWS: Return of the EPF computer scheme?

PETALING JAYA: The Association of the Computer and Multimedia Industry of Malaysia (Pikom) is hopeful that the EPF computer purchase scheme will be revived this year.

“Pikom is giving its full support to the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (SKMM), which is in looking into reinstating the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Computer Purchase Withdrawal Scheme,” Pikom chairman David Wong said.

“It would be good to relook at EPF’s ‘One Home, One Computer’ campaign, It will allow people to have the flexibility to purchase a PC using their EPF funds,” he added.

Wong said PC penetration in Malaysia is still below 50%. “A lot of money is being poured into broadband infrastructure but PC penetration is still 44%. More people need to own a PC to leverage on all this infrastructure.

Should this scheme be reinstated, there will be no excuse not to own a PC,” he said.

Wong said that local PC penetration should move up to 70% and added that Pikom are seeking to meet with the Energy, Water and Communications Ministry to discuss the revival of the scheme.

“We need to help them to minimise the abuse that happened when the scheme was first introduced in 2000.

“Some people abused the scheme and used the EPF PC money to buy other goods. We need to sit down with the SKMM and create a more transparent process,” he said.

Back then, about 750,000 EPF contributors withdrew money amounting to an estimated RM2.2bil, under the EPF PC scheme. Out of that, about 87,000 contributors were believed to have been involved in fraudulent withdrawals from 2000 to 2002, according to the Finance Ministry.

Under the scheme, EPF contributors could withdraw a maximum of RM3,500 from the fund to purchase a PC.

According to Pikom, roughly 72,000 PCs were sold under the scheme.

The EPF gave Pos Malaysia Bhd and Bank Simpanan Nasional rights for sales under the scheme, which was finally discontinued in 2002, due to abuse.

Energy, Water and Communications Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor was reported in a local daily saying that EPF contributors should be allowed to withdraw their money to buy computers as they were an essential learning tool.

“A computer is an essential item for the purpose of learning and, therefore, I have requested the SKMM to review the best way to continue with the scheme,” he was quoted as saying.