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Huge investments: EPF should disclose the list of the beneficiaries of EPF loans and the full details of stocks ad shares and money market instruments bought with EPF monies   Press Conference Statement - launching of the “ EPF Contributors Deserve Higher Dividend “ Campaign by Kerk Kim Hock (Seremban, Tuesday): Despite the fact that the nation achieved an economic growth of 4.2 % last year, as compared to 0.2 % in 2001, the EPF plunged from 5 % in 2001 to 4.25 % last year.   The 4.25 % dividend was the lowest in 40 years, as evidenced from the data below:   Year Per Centum Per Annum 1952---1959      2.50 1960---1962      4.20 1963      5.00 1964      5.25 1965--1967      5.50 1968--1970      5.75 1971      5.80 1972—1973      5.85 1974---1975      6.60 1976--1978      7.00 1979      7.25 1980--1982      8.00 1983--1987      8.50 1988--1994      8.00 1995      7.50 1996      7.70 1997--1998      6.70 1999      6.84  2000      6.00 2001      5.00 2002      4.25     In an exercise aimed at improving its public image, the EPF has yesterday paced   full-page advertisement in the newspapers entitled “ EPF working harder to meet your expectations”. However, it has not addressed or answered many key questions, among which are:   1.      Why EPF has suffered RM 15 billion “ paper losses” in equity and doubtful debts as recently reveled by MTUC President Datuk Zainal Rampak, who is also a member of the EPF Board?  2.      After having written off RM 5.09 billion “ paper losses” in the last five years, how is EPF going to write off the balance of some RM 10 billion in “ paper losses” 3.      What is the effect of these paper losses on the future EPF dividend   In fact, there are many more questions, which the EPF should answer if it is serious about wanting to gain the confidence of the public with regard to their concerns about the safety and quality of their EPF monies.   In the EPF 2002 Annual Report, data shows that the EPF investments last year were as follows:   Malaysian Government Securities RM 72.98 billion Loans and Debentures RM 52.80 billion Equity RM 45.66 billion Monetary Market Instruments RM 26.99 billion Property RM  1.46 billion   The above data show that the investments were astronomical sums and in keeping with the highest standards of good corporate governance and the principle of accountability, the EPF should disclose the list of the beneficiaries of huge EPF loans and the full details of the stocks and shares and money market instrument bought with EPF monies.   The EPF must respect the right of the contributors to know and reveal to them details and answers that they should know and not reveal to them only information that EPF wants them to know   (15/7/2003) *  Kerk Kim Hock, DAP Secretary General & MP for Kota Melaka