PIKOM PROPOSES TO CHAMPION THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE EPF WITHDRAWAL SCHEME FOR PC PURCHASES.

In a recent published article in a local daily, Minister of Energy, Water and Communications, Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor, called for the Employee Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal scheme for the purchase of PCs to be revived. PIKOM, the National ICT Association of Malaysia strongly supports the Minister’s call and has in fact drawn up a firm proposal to be presented to the relevant authorities soon.

Petaling Jaya, January 2, 2009 - PIKOM strongly supports the revival of the EPF withdrawal scheme for PC purchases. The scheme will not only benefit contributors of EPF and PC dealers/installers but also stimulate the ICT industry in 2009 which is now expected to grow by only 5% compared to 7% in 2008, and between 10% and 12% in each of the preceding few years.
Reviving the scheme will also be able to bridge the digital divide among consumers via increase PC ownership, which in turn will help achieve Malaysia’s broadband penetration objective of 50% by 2010. This will then acculturate consumers to adopt e-commerce and drive demand for the content industry, both key elements of a knowledge-based economy.

PIKOM has constantly been emphasizing on the importance of PC literacy and ownership, and through its Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, Projek Menguasai Aplikasi INternet dan PC (Projek M.A.IN. PC), is helping bridge the digital divide in communities by enabling citizens in the lower income group to acquire and apply computer knowledge as a lifelong skill.

Projek M.A.IN PC was officially launched by the Prime Minister during the recent World Congress on Information Technology 2008 (WCIT 2008) held in Kuala Lumpur in May and so far, it has garnered commitment from nine project partners as well as the support of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (MOSTI) and the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.

The initiaive is well into its next phase, the “PC ownership” initiative, after the successful completion of the curriculum module development and the opening of two pilot M.A.IN. PC centres, or the “PC Literacy” initiative. The long-term goal of the project is to create a K-economy that comprises knowledge workers in all engines of the economy.

For the last three months, PIKOM has been studying the shortcomings of the last EPF withdrawal scheme, and has prepared a firm proposal to revive the scheme. PIKOM will be approaching the relevant authorities to present its findings and convey its proposal for the re-implementation of the EPF withdrawal scheme soon.