The Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which allows members to use their contributions to pay the down payment for a house can help realise the desire of low-income workers to own their own homes.

A contributor, Muhammad Sufian Daud, 31, said the convenience of using the EPF withdrawal from account two to pay the down payment to buy a house, does reduce the burden on low and medium wage workers like him.

For those earning RM3,500 and below, it is difficult to save money to pay the down payment for a house, especially if living in a big city like Kuala Lumpur and Shah Alam due to the high cost of living, he said.

"... the down payment which is usually up to 10 percent of the price of a house is not a small sum for a house in the city or in the suburbs, especially in Selangor houses are expensive between RM250,000 and above.

"On calculating, a buyer is required to pay RM25,000 as down payment and for medium and low salaried workers, it's a big sum and the facility provided by the EPF comes in very useful," he told Bernama here today.

An engineer at a construction firm, Hussary Ahmad, 30, said he will use the EPF money in future to buy a house as an investment.

"House prices will get more expensive, the demand for houses for rent will always be there. I will purchase a house and rent it out for extra income on retirement.

"This is because the EPF money alone is not enough to cover all expenses," said Hussary who already owns a house.

Meanwhile, a private sector employee, Ahmad Shaherman Shamsuri, 31, said he had no plans to buy or own a new house when he retires.

According to him, houses may be quite expensive by then and he might not be able to afford it.

"However, I would probably do a little renovation to the house I have now to make it comfortable for my children and grandchildren," he said. - BERNAMA