The Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia has urged the government to reconsider crediting the monthly EPF withdrawals for housing purposes directly into individual accounts.

Rehda's president Ng Seing Liong said "repercussion of such mechanism is huge and in the end, it may not benefit the contributors and the economy".

"The withdrawals should be used strictly to help contributors reduce the burden of their housing loan, and it is crucial that they should not be at liberty to spend it for other purposes" Ng said. "Whilst ideally contributors should self-regulate in issues related to finances, the temptation of having extra money to spend may lead them to buying other things or committing to new loans."

"If the withdrawals are intended to help them reduce their existing housing loan or enhance their housing loan eligibility, the mechanism should be designed to serve such purposes" he added.