An expat wrote to us advising that his attempts to withdraw his EPF contribution failed because of a rule that says foreigners can only withdraw their funds when they leave the country. He is living here under the spouse programme and has no plans to leave the country. The rules for Malaysians and foreigners are fairly similar, except for this all important rule regarding withdrawing your money.
It would seem the rules were established some time ago when foreigners found it harder to get work permits and were expected to leave after a maximum of ten years, and certainly not stay on after retirement. Given the introduction of the Malaysia My Second Home programme and the general liberalisation of the work permit regulations, this rule seems to conflict with the government’s new attitude to foreigners.
We were unable to get an official explanation for the rule but were told it was possible to appeal against the regulation. In the case of people staying on under the MM2H programme, the person we spoke to thought they would probably get exemption.
If any readers have input on this issue, please send it to Andy Davison at andyd@ theexpatgroup.com. Details of how to appeal can be obtained from Shirley, who may be reached at shirley@theexpatgroup.com or telephone 03.2093 9539.
