KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 — The government will not make it mandatory for Muslim contributors to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to use the shariah account, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
However, he said, the government encourages Muslims to do so through a series of incentives and explanations regarding shariah financial instruments, which are hoped to increase the number of Muslim contributors in these types of savings.
He said the EPF’s achievement in announcing a higher dividend rate of 6.3 per cent for both conventional and shariah accounts for 2024 was hoped to encourage Muslims to switch to the latter.
“We do not intend to make it mandatory, but with what has been made evident (by EPF) and with the series of incentives and explanations, we hope the number (of contributors to shariah savings) will increase.
“There is no policy to make it mandatory, but we do encourage it,” he said in reply to Datuk Mohd Isam Mohd Isa (BN-Tampin) during the Ministers’ Question Time at the Dewan Rakyat sitting today.
Isam wanted to know whether the government plans to make it mandatory for Muslim contributors to contribute to shariah savings to prevent their savings from being questioned in terms of halal and haram.
The Prime Minister said Muslims need to be given more information and explanation on banking matters, such as interest-free banking and several shariah instruments introduced in financial instruments to ensure they better understand the benefits of their choices.
In response to a supplementary question from Chiew Choon Man (PH-Miri) on whether the EPF’s recent achievements indicate a strong economic foundation for the country, Anwar, who is also finance minister, said that the achievements were driven by investment confidence in the Madani Economy framework.
“We must also express our appreciation to the EPF management for their performance, transparency, and efficiency, which have led to better records.
“As of December last year, 63 per cent of EPF’s total investments were in the domestic market, amounting to RM782 billion, an 11 per cent growth from 2023. At Bursa Malaysia, the increase was 12.9 per cent, which is a significant improvement,” he said.
Anwar added that the best achievements in the past seven years were also supported by policies introduced by the government, as well as several measures such as institutional reforms through the Public Finance and Fiscal Responsibility Act 2023.
— Bernama
