EPF's RM 500 million loss: MCA's Wee Ka Siong must accept DAP’s Chong Zhemin's challenge

EPF's RM 500 million loss: MCA's Wee Ka Siong must accept DAP’s Chong Zhemin's challenge


14 Mar 2025 • 5:30 PM MYT


TheRealNehruism
Writer. Seeker. Teacher

Image credit: Daily Express / Focus Malaysia


I thought that MIC’s deputy chief Saravanan challenging Muslim Preacher Zamri Vinoth to a debate is a horrible idea, that will likely only transform an unfortunate accident to a full scale disaster, but I think that DAP’s Kampar MP Chong Zhemin challenging MCA’s Chief Wee Ka Siong to settle the question whether there is any hanky panky involved in EPF’s alleged RM 500 million loss, because of a “buy high, sell low” transaction involving MAHB shares, is a great idea.


The main personality involved in raising the suspicion that there is something dodgy about EPF’s involvement in the MAHB share transaction is MCA’s Wee Ka Siong and Lawrence Low, so it is incumbent upon them to accept Chong’s challenge to settle the matter.


I agree with Chong Zhemin that Wee Ka Siong should not sub-contract the debate to MCA Youth, but instead accept Chong’s challenge himself, or at least direct MCA’s vice president, Lawrence Low, to answer the challenge, because it was Wee Ka Siong and Lawrence that had made the matter an issue in the public’s consciousness in the first place.


As for the argument that it is not fair to expect someone of the level Wee or Lawrence, who are MCA’s president and vice-president respectively, to debate someone like Chong, who holds no national position in DAP, on account of the difference in their stature, I think the matter can be put aside because 1) Chong is not a nobody – he is a Member of Parliament, so it will not be out of place for him to challenge Wee, even if Wee is a head of a party, on the basis of a MP challenging another MP 2) Chong had promised to resign as a MP if Wee can prove that EPF did indeed lose money as he alleged, so the fact that Chong had put up a higher stake makes his challenge to Wee valid, even if Wee has a higher stature 3) Wee himself has been running helter skelter to spread the message that there is something shady going on with EPF’s top management , so he should actually welcome Chong’s challenge, because it is pursuant to his own desire to alert the public about something that is wrong with EPF's management 4) if Chong cancels the debate because Wee declines to accept the challenge, it will be Wee that will be seen at fault, for making a dare without having the galls to back it up with action and 5) this is a great opportunity for Wee to champion something that is close to the heart of the people – if Wee is right and it is proven that there are indeed Wolves in Sheep’s Clothing guarding the public’s wealth at EPF, and as a result of his tireless effort to raise the alarm, the Wolves are caught before they can do anymore harm, the people will be immensely grateful to Wee and MCA for saving the day.


Let us also not forget, Wee has a responsibility to take the issue forward or put the matter to rest, after using his stature and standing to raise the alarm in people’s mind.


I myself have written 2 or 3 articles in regards to the EPF’s RM 500 million loss, even though I don’t understand it a 100 percent, just on the basis that Wee is a person of standing, and therefore his allegation must be taken seriously.


If Wee declines to accept Chong’s challenge, and as a result, the debate that could have taken the issue forward or put it to rest doesn’t happen, I think the right thing for us to do as a public, is strip the recognition that Wee is a person of weight and standing in society.


Why recognise a person as being someone of weight and consequence, if they raise alarm and anxiety in our hearts and minds, without being willing to finish what they started?


As a member of the public, the most pressing question that is gnawing at my mind is whether there are wolves in sheep’s clothing in EPF’s top brass, who are stealing the public’s wealth while pretending to guard it.


The RM 500 million loss, if true, is not the biggest problem that we have – the biggest problem that we have is that if the RM 500 million loss occurred due to a deliberate and sophisticated attempt to steal from EPF's fund, we have thieves who are guarding our treasure. If last year they have succeeded in pulling a RM 500 million heist, you never know when they will pull off a RM 5 billion or 50 billion heist next.


The reason that I can’t help but suspect that there are thieves in the top level of EPF who are planning to pull off a RM 5 billion or RM 50 billion heist from EPF, is because Wee had planted that suspicion in my head.


Considering that it is Wee that had planted it, not only in my mind, but in the minds of tens of thousands of people, makes it incumbent upon him to do what is necessary, to either put the suspicion to rest, or carry it forward until the thieves are caught and punished.


This debate is a great idea to do either, and on behalf of the public, I strongly urge Wee to accept Chong’s challenge.