KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) wants the previously termed, direct income transfer 1Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) be re-instituted for the 2.5 million B40 families, instead of the proposal to institute Employees Provident Fund (EPF) accounts for housewives.
Its central committee member, Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said the move would boost aggregate demand by RM3 billion (RM1,200 x 2.5 million).
“But we would suggest the following tweaks – RM100 be credited monthly to the bank accounts of the lady of the household.
“For a few reasons – money paid out monthly would help defray living costs, wives are more responsible in spending than husbands, and RM100 per month to the wife’s account would help to empower her a little more,” he said in a statement here yesterday.
He added the Pakatan Harapan proposal for two per cent husband’s EPF contribution credited monthly to his non-working wife’s account, and topped up with a RM50 contribution from the government, did not result in extra money in hand for the housewife.
“It’s mere tokenism and does not create an old age savings of any significance,” noted Jeyakumar.
He said the housewife had to wait till she was 50 before she could withdraw a third of her total EPF savings.
“But housewives in the B40 group desperately need more spending money as the cost of running a household is constantly going up.
“If the government is prepared to spend RM2.25 billion yearly (RM50 x 12 months x 3.75 million families), why not spend it in a way that benefits the B40 families right now?,” he asked.
Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had previously announced that a cost-of-living-allowance would replace BR1M that was introduced by the previous government, and it would be reviewed to ensure that only those who were truly eligible would receive it. - Bernama
