Rainsunshiny Scrooge

“…the first batch of 7,000 people who qualify for the loans would receive the offer letters next month…”

Care to tell us who these people are, RNC?

That’s a big group of people who, for some reason or another, couldn’t qualify for loans from financial institutions who will now be getting one from the our pension fund, the EPF.

By any chance are they folks in Lembah Pantai or there abouts?

So, how much is going to be the first drawdown from our retirement fund? RM315 million, is it, @ RM45,000 x 7,000?

June, July disbursement, eh?

Wait, isn’t everyone who’s no one saying that’s when the General Election's going to be held?

If it is, talk about coincidence and the impact of 7,000 “grateful” people waiting for their “housing loan” to come through, eh..

Of course, this is purely a hypothetical, far-fetched and way subversive an idea.

Nah… Perish the thought! It’s just not ethical to be dipping into public fund as to further one’s political future.

The “sangka baik” thing would be that it’s all for the rakyat, even if a portion of the very same rakyat – say a few EPF contributors - are crying out against the scheme’s use of their hard earned money.

What do they know, right?

Am curious, though, as I didn’t read anywhere about the setting up of the SPV handling the same scheme.

Wasn’t it reported some time ago that the vetting of those applying for the funds will be done by this particular outfit?

I must have missed out on that news item then, and must commend it's staff on the efficiency of their work to be able to clear 7,000 (must be more, right? Can't be 100% approvals or can it?) applications in such quick time.

Work, work, work, come rain or shine kind of work ethic. Very commendable.

Let’s do some maths, shall we: an hour per application @ 8 hour per day equals 40 per workweek or 160 per month per vetting staff.

So it takes around 44 staff working at such breakneck speed to do 7,000 within a month.

Was it a month since the SPV was set up?

Like I said, I missed out on all the excitement.

Worrying about people dipping into my retirement fund to do God-knows-what does that to you.

In the meantime, congratulations to the 7,000 formerly-cannot-qualify-for-loans-but-now-is soon to be proud house owners.

Hope you remember whose money it is you are using.

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.