Money, money, money...

For the past week, I’ve been getting a few calls from my PLWHA clients, informing me of the status of their EPF withdrawal applications.

Right after she got her cheque by mail, Ani called me up to thank me for helping her with the application. I didn’t do anything much, but she still wanted me to know first. And I really appreciate her telling me about it without me asking. Not that I’m such a busybody wanting to know whatever goes on with her life, but I prefer to know the latest status of all my clients so I can prioritize whoever needs help more.

Just 2 days after Ani called me, Yah called me. She said she went to update her bank book and found out that her EPF money had already been banked into her account. Great news indeed! Now she can settle the purchase of land and house from her aunt and no longer need to worry about being chased out of the present house by her landlord’s son as what happened previously.

Both Ani and Yah applied for EPF withdrawal to build/buy a house. Ani is currently staying in a small kampong house together with her in-laws including her husband’s younger siblings. Since nobody else knows about the couple’s HIV status, it can be quite difficult staying in the same house with so many others. With the EPF money, Ani’s husband can now build a separate house on a nearby piece of land.

I was told by a fellow volunteer that he had brought Mr. and Mrs. K to EPF office last week for the same purpose. Mr. K’s medical report was signed by a specialist so hopefully he doesn’t need to go to any panel clinics to confirm his health status. My friend (the volunteer) did ask the EPF officer about the question I posed to him earlier, as to why the applicants need to go to private panel clinics when they have already submitted medical reports issued by government hospitals… it didn’t sound quite right. And the officer’s answer was, “Itu keputusan Lembaga KWSP, bukan keputusan saya.” Yes, the typical “that’s not my job” answer. This means they don’t care about the logic behind any procedures that need to be carried out… if the big bosses say the applicants need to jump off a building to prove their disability, the applicants WILL be asked to jump off the building! (Of course I’m exaggerating here, but you get the drift…)

Well, Mr. K’s EPF withdrawal should be approved soon and hopefully the money will help the family get back on their feet.

While I’m not too worried about how Ani and Yah will use their money, I am a bit concerned about Mr. K’s family. I have seen how Yah manages her finances, and I believe her EPF money will be put to good use.

But Mr. K’s family being the “gali lubang tutup lubang” type (first borrow from A, then borrow from B to pay back A, and so on and so forth). They have never seen big amount of money in their life, so seeing a big amount in their bank account may tempt them to use up the whole amount of money in no time, thinking there’s a lot more to spend! I have already seen quite a few of such cases, especially the men (sorry, men… but I’m saying this based on what I’ve personally seen). But Mrs. K promised me they’d put aside at least RM10K in ASB, so I hope she’ll keep her word when the money comes in.

Hopefully, they will spend the money WISELY.