Contributors to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) have the right to demand a higher dividend payment than the 4.25 percent announced recently, said DAP today.

The opposition party claimed that based o­n previous growth, the10.3 million EPF contributors can expect a dividend of up to at least 5.43 percent for 2002.

This was o­ne of the demands made by the party in a memorandum submitted to the EPF board this morning.

Dubious investments

The memorandum - signed by DAP members of Parliament Dr Tan Seng Giaw ( right ), Tan Kok Wai and Teresa Kok ( left ) - also called o­n the EPF Board to provide a full account of their investments, especially in the light of a recent claim that the fund suffered a RM10 billion paper loss in equity.

"We view with great concern (the) published reports that EPF had been hit by a RM10 billion paper loss in equities and that it had been camouflaging these losses in its accounts, which the EPF Board and management had not denied.

"It would therefore be patently unfair for the 10.3 million EPF contributors to pay with their hard-earned cash from their life savings for these paper losses as a result of dubious EPF investments," read the memorandum.

The memorandum was submitted to EPF public relations officer Nik Affendi Jaafar at the fund's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. Also present was DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang.

Nik Affendi said he will pass the memorandum to EPF chairperson Abdul Halim Ali.

Among others, the memorandum sought for the amendment of the 1991 EPF Act to allow for direct representation of EPF contributors o­n the EPF board and EPF investment panel.

At present, contributors are represented by union heads and policy makers.

The memorandum also wanted a new EPF policy o­n accountability and transparency so that the public will know more about the fund's dealings in the stock market.

The final demand was for the establishment of an EPF contributors association to further protect the interest of contributors.

Provisional dividend

In a statement later, Lim urged the cabinet - which will meet tomorrow - to classify the 4.25 percent dividend for last year as a provisional dividend.

He also said the government sought to initiate an independent study o­n why EPF could not give a final dividend of more than five percent.

"The cabinet is now the final authority in the country which can step in to rectify the gross injustice to the 10.3 million EPF contributors," added the DAP chief.

He said the argument that the 4.25 percent EPF dividend for the last year was the best possible under the circumstances was not acceptable.