COMMENT | When the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) withdrawal for emergency relief purposes was announced, many rejoiced, while others opposed the move vehemently.

While the B40 (Bottom 40 percent of income earners) group has definitely been hard hit by the pandemic, significant numbers of the M40 have seen more drastic changes to their standard of living and sources of income.

That is the main reason the EPF withdrawal resonated with so many out there.

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said 580,000 M40 households in Malaysia fell to the B40 percentile.

With Malaysia’s average household size of four, that is...