Ensuring social security covers everyone

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be continuous social security reforms in Malaysia to make it all-inclusive, says Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

He said there were many more reforms required of policy makers and it has been his personal mission to see the implementation of these reforms during his tenure.

“Recently, I recognised the care economy, which includes domestic helpers and housewives, is equally important in contributing to economic growth, but they are not protected against mishaps related to their services.

“Therefore, I had presented the proposals to the Cabinet and in Parliament to extend Social Security Organisation (Socso) protection to domestic helpers by June 2021 and to housewives from August 2022.

“Parliament has collectively agreed to the necessary amendments and enacting a new law to narrow the social security coverage gap in the country,” he said when officiating at the Asian Workers’ Compensation Association (AWCA) Technical Seminar on Navigating Social Security and Wellbeing Post Covid-19 in Asia, here, yesterday.

His speech text was read out by Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim.

The three-day seminar from yesterday had over 200 local and foreign participants from South Korea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand and Singapore, comprising social security practitioners, academicians and stakeholders.

Saravanan said employers and workers around the world had experienced how national social security systems protected society at large against vulnerabilities, including occupational and health hazards during the Covid-19 pandemic, as well as how a massive crisis could result in poverty.

He said globally, governments had relied on social security programmes to protect their people from health and economic risks during the pandemic. — Bernama