Bleeping Sod-Offs

These days I often winced every time EPF appears in the news.

As is often the case, the news would be on the nation’s richer institution spending money for something or the other.

Recent ones being the RM2.4 billion for the RRI land, the 20% stake for the RM2 billion Battersea project, and not to forget, the RM1.5 billion for Raja Nong Chik’s housing loans for the KL poor scheme.

And yet another: the EPF has apparently been accumulating shares of Felda Global Ventures Holdings (FGVH) and now holding close to 7% from 5.4% for the controversial IPO, which price reached a low RM4.57 before noon today.

How much is EPF, urm , exposure vis-a-vis FGVH in pure money terms, I wonder? 

According to fellow blogger SakMongkol, it’s around RM1.2 billion. Another multi-billion venture, if that is so.

In the shareholding business, it’s great to be able to buy low especially if you are holding the shares for a much longer term with the proviso of a company with positive outlook. Is this the case with FGVH?

Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t. This depends very much on who you ask this question to.

The fact remains however that for the FGVH IPO, even the State governments – not the epitome of financial savvy managers – were roped in to, urm, prop the debut price.

There is in place a 6-month’s holding period for the local institution. I supposed this includes the latter.

Query: What happens if the price continues to tumble below the issue price? Will EPF continue to accumulate FGVH shares on the quiet? Up to what point will it continue to do so?

And if the shares continue to tumble, wouldn’t buying them constitute a breach of responsibility on the EPF part in managing its contributors’ hard earned retirement savings for good returns?

Unfortunately, EPF contributors do not have much say on the institution’s investing decisions.

Hence, the go ahead for Raja Nong Chik’s loans for the poor scheme despite some rumblings of how the EPF seemed to be the other favorite purse of the politically-intertwined.

The other being Petronas, of course, but the still-mighty corporation of the nation has made its feeling known over it reservations in being a cash cow for all and sundry.

Cash flushed as it is, the EPF is not a bottomless well of funds and eventually – if everyone were to dip into the piggy bank as if it was their own – the base would be reached.

We certainly have plenty of examples of once cash-rich coffers hence depleted, don’t we?

So, do Sod Off all you grubby hands. Please.

Shylock Empathies

“If we reduce it to 2.5 per cent, it will be RM161. It is only RM82 difference.”

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen.

One statement is all it takes to show the EPF funding for the non-eligible-for-loans-poor was never really per se about the supposed beneficiaries.

ONLY RM82?

Just how far removed is RNC from the realities of those who have to tighten their belts for life's daily grind, I wonder?

RM82 is enough to cover a school going child’s pocket money for at least a month.

RM82 is enough to pay the water and electricity bills.

RM82 is often the difference between having decent food to put on the table for a whole month or resorting to instant noodles every time.

Not that if the cut is made then it’s all kosher where the scheme is concerned.

Such an act would make the whole scheme even more unreasonably unfair to EPF's contributors.

If he is so intent in helping the poor, venture building homes that can be owned by paying the monthly lease / rentals for a certain time span.

That way you will not have a group of supposedly “poor” house-owners making good monthly income from renting out their units (units, mind you!!!) to others.

For a government that can shell out Billions in Ringgits to build this and that and the other, what’s a mere few millions for such a lease-your-own-home scheme? Right?

After all, it is ONLY a few millions (give or take a few hundred thousands here and there in , ahem, administrative whatchamaccalit).

ONLY RM82, huh?

Jokes on us poor schmuks.

PS: Spare an Al Fatihah to poor Nurul Nadirah and all the other children who had to suffer death and worse at the hands of devils in human disguise. May God rest their souls.