PUTRAJAYA: Skim Pengembara, the planned insurance scheme for Malaysians travelling to Singapore for work daily, is expected to be ready by the second quarter of this year, says Datuk Seri R. Ramanan.
Also known as the Traveller Scheme, the Human Resources Minister said that he plans to bring the scheme to a future Cabinet meeting soon for consideration.
He said the scheme was aimed at protecting the nearly 400,000 Malaysians who cross the border daily from Johor for work.
“Even if they work overseas, they are still Malaysians, so if anything happens to them, who will take care of their families?
“This is why this scheme is important as it is part of the government’s effort to ensure no one is left behind,” he said in a press conference after a Human Resources Ministry Buka Puasa event here on Wednesday (March 11).
Ramanan also said that he will bring up possible cost-saving measures to be implemented in his Ministry and the private sector in the upcoming special Cabinet meeting on Friday (March 13).
He said among the possible measures that are being considered is the implementation of work-from-home for his own ministry employees and the private sector.
“We have seen what Thailand has done, and we are currently conducting studies on this, so once the study is completed, I will receive a briefing tomorrow from the deputy secretaries-general and the divisions involved.
“I will then present the findings to the special Cabinet meeting on Friday,” he told reporters during an earlier press conference here.
“If we ourselves do not practise savings but ask the people to do so, that would not be fair.
“Therefore, we too must be prepared, and we must lead the people by example,” Ramanan added.
This comes as concerns that the ongoing Middle East conflict will be prolonged and lead to more global economic woes as the Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil-shipping route, remains closed by Iran.
