KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 2): The liquidation of assets carried out by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) remains based on the "ordinary course of business" of the EPF itself without any specific liquidation to cover the withdrawals under the i-Lestari, i-Sinar and i-Citra schemes as well as the special one-off withdrawal of RM10,000.

In a written reply dated Aug 1 (Monday) which was uploaded on the Parliament website, Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said any purchase and sale of EPF investment assets are subject to investment portfolio rebalancing activities.

This is guided by EPF’s Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) and aimed at generating tangible and distributable income for dividend payments to members.

“The EPF adopts a disciplined investment approach and solid liquidity management guided by SAA which reduces the impact of the stated withdrawals on the EPF portfolio.

“This is important to ensure that the EPF's investment objectives to protect and increase the value of members' savings can be achieved especially in challenging times,” Tengku Zafrul said in reply to a question by Semporna Member of Parliament Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, who had asked the finance minister to state specifically whether the investment assets of the EPF in Malaysia and abroad are liquidated to cover the special withdrawals previously allowed under the various schemes.

Tengku Zafrul noted the EPF also receives healthy monthly net contributions as well as consistent cash inflows through the maturity of investment instruments and the generation of investment income.

“As a retirement fund with total assets reaching RM1 trillion, EPF always ensures sufficient cash balance to support any needs and expenses,” he added.

For more Parliament stories, click here.