PUTRAJAYA: Workers of the nation must possess both physical and mental resilience to drive the country's growth and development, says Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong.
He said that without the contributions of workers across various sectors, including security, defence, as well as public and private services, Malaysia would not be able to progress and move forward.
"What is stopping you all from continuing to contribute your services and strength to the nation, religion and homeland...what stands in the way of Malaysia becoming a great nation, especially in this turbulent world, is not external forces like America or China, but the resilience of Malaysians can overcome all," he said.
He made this statement at the Social Security Organisation (Socso) Run and Ride 2025 programme, held here on Sunday (April 20).
Also present were Socso Board chairman Datuk Seri Subahan Kamal and its Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed.
Sim also expressed concern about the rise in non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among Socso contributors, with an average of 80 individuals identified daily as suffering from various health issues last year.
He cited a Socso report that revealed almost 2.3 million adults in Malaysia suffer from three types of NCDs: diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity.
"Based on these figures, we need to be aware of the importance of practising a healthy lifestyle because NCDs are closely related to the way we live our lives.
"Increasing awareness of this matter is important because workers are important assets that drive the economy and national development," he said.
Sim said based on statistics, the number of contributors who suffered from NCDs increased by 26.5% in just two years since 2022, which was feared to hinder the continued productivity of the workforce.
What was even more worrying, he said, was a report by the Health Ministry in 2021 that revealed Malaysia faces losses of up to RM64.2bil per year, equivalent to 4.2% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), due to NCDs.
He said the losses were assessed through the allocation of medical treatment and healthcare costs, in addition to the loss of worker productivity.
Sim said Socso introduced the Health Screening Programme (HSP) in 2013 and so far, has benefited more than 900,000 individuals.
"Based on the HSP 3.0 data in 2023 and 2024, screening of 270,000 workers aged 40 and above found that 19.4% of them had diabetes, 19.6% had high blood pressure, while another 59.7% were detected to have excess cholesterol in the blood and 160,100 people or 59.3% suffered from obesity," he said.
This year's Socso Run and Ride has entered its eighth edition and made history by attracting more than 10,000 participants.
It was held in conjunction with Labour Day 2025 and served as the curtain raiser for the MYFutureJobs Career Carnival @ Labour Day 2025, scheduled to take place from April 28 to May 1 at the Axiata Arena Bukit Jalil, Kuala Lumpur. – Bernama
