SANDAKAN: Sandakan Member of Parliament, Vivian Wong, calls on the public to ensure that heirs are named in their EPF accounts to avoid difficulties for family members in processing documents and making withdrawals as heirs in the event of an accident or death of the contributor.
“According to the EPF, if a related contributor dies unexpectedly but fails to name an heir, and the account has more than RM5,000, a lawyer is required to prove his relationship with the heir in court to get back the money in the EPF belonging to the contributor.
“This will be a difficult process if no nominations are made by contributors,” Vivian said in a statement here on Wednesday.
Recently, Vivian’s Special Officer, Tang Szu Ching, helped a young man named Chin to apply for the withdrawal of his father’s EPF savings.
With the help of a lawyer, it took about eight months to complete the application.
Vivian thanked the Legal Aid Department for providing legal aid to people in need at a very low price, and the application was successful with their help.
She said the Legal Aid Department was a government agency created to help B40 families who cannot afford to hire lawyers and pay high legal fees when faced with disputes or legal matters.
“I hereby call on the people of Sandakan and all, if you are an EPF member, to make sure you have named your heirs so that your family does not have to face a series of troublesome procedures in the future,” she said.