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Cabinet tomorrow should end the longest delay in 50 years to announce last year's EPF dividend - and ensure that it is not the lowest in 40 years of below 5 per cent Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang (Penang,  Tuesday): Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chan Kong Choy told the Dewan Rakyat last Thursday that the Employees Provident Fund board had decided on last year's dividend for contributors and was now awaiting approval from the Finance Minister. Winding up the debate on the Employees Provident Fund (Amendment) Bill 2003, Chan said the rate would be announced once the Finance Minister gives his endorsement. It is most regrettable that Chan had not been truly frank, accountable and transparent in Parliament on the question of the EPF dividend for last year, as explaining the reason for the longest delay in 50 years to announce the EPF dividend - which is expected to the lowest in 40 years of below 5 per cent. In the past half a century, the EPF would often announce its dividend for the previous year in February, and only on rare occasions making the announcement in March - but never as late as April. Is the EPF dividend last year only to be announced next mlonth, after the return of Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad to his duties as Finance Minister? Going by past practice, the EPF Board would have already made its decision and made its recommendation for the EPF dividend for last year to the Finance Minister by the second half of February. Is Chan suggesting that the delay in announcing the EPF dividend for next year was because of the failure to date of the Acting Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make a decision on the matter - and if so, an explanation from Abdullah is warranted. Yesterday, Abdullah urged civil servants at every level, from the Chief Secretary of the Government to district officers, to embrace the First World thinking and work culture - to cut down bureaucracy and red tape, promote good customer service, transparency and efficient time management. The Cabinet should set the example to the entire civil service and the 23 million Malaysians to root out the "First World Infrastructure, Third World Mentality" malaise, and as a first step, the Cabinet tomorrow should end the longest delay in 50 years to announce the EPF dividend for last year - and ensure that it is not the lowest in 40 years of below 5 per cent If the delay in the announcement of the EPF dividend last year is because Abdullah had directed the EPF Board to reconsider its decision to announce the lowest dividend in 40 years, then it is commendable. However, if the delay is to wait until Mahathir returns to make the unpopular announcement, then it is unacceptable. If the bad news eventuate, the 10.3 million EPF contributors are entitled to a full accounting as to why their dividend should be the lowest in 40 years, and assured of the efficiency, competence, accountability, transparency and integrity of EPF stewardship of RM200 billion of their life savings. In such a situation, the Cabinet should ensure five steps so as not to forfeit public confidence in the EPF, viz: a full and satisfactory explanation for the EPF declaring the lowest dividend in 40 ears of below 5% for 2002, to convince the 10.3 million EPF contributors that this was not because of imprudent equity investments, bad loan decisions or bail-out operations gone wrong; amendment of the 1991 EPF Act to allow for direct representation of EPF contributors on the EPF Board and EPF Investment Panel; a new EPF policy on accountability and transparency, as making public its shares dealings in the stock market and beneficiaries of its loans; a mechanism for interaction between the 10.3 million EPF contributors and the EPF Board and Management; and "green light" for establishment of an EPF Contributors' Association. At present, although there are workers' representatives on the EPF Board, they are not represented on the EPF Investment Panel. Furthermore, the six trade union representatives on the EPF Board are mostly kept in the dark about the share dealings of the EPF Investment Panel. EPF has a history since the eighties of using EPF monies to jack up the stock market, resulting frequently with the fingers of the millions of EPF contributors being burnt and up to now, there is still no accountability whether as to the huge sums lost or disciplinary actions against those behind such irresponsible decisions. The time has come for the Cabinet to send out a strong message that there should be greater accountability, transparency and good governance in the EPF by giving the "green light" for the establishment of an EPF Contributors' Association to protect the rights and interests of the 10 million EPF contributors, with powers to hold the EPF Board and EPF Investment Panel to account through periodic meetings on the propriety, probity and profitability of all EPF decisions. (15/4/2003) * Lim Kit Siang, DAP National Chairman