KUALA LUMPUR: The Social Security Organisation (PERKESO) has paid out RM9.97mil on 6,330 accident claims in the first three months of its round-the-clock coverage scheme, and is urging workers who opted out to sign back up now that the window to leave has closed.
PERKESO group chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said 87.6%, or 8.5 million workers, had kept their coverage under Lindung 24 Jam, which took effect on June 1, while 12.4% opted out.
He said the 6,330 claims received from June 1 to Aug 31 averaged about 69 a day, covering benefits such as temporary and permanent disablement, medical expense reimbursement, funeral management, dependants' benefit, and rehabilitation devices and implants.
Dr Mohammed Azman said 74% of the claims came from workers earning below RM2,500, most of them younger and lower-income.
He said workers earning below RM3,500 also made up the largest group among those who opted out, at 52%, with most of them working in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya at 53%, followed by Johor at 11% and Penang at 9%.
He said some higher earners had opted out because they believed private insurance was enough.
"Don't think that because you earn RM10,000 and can afford insurance, you don't need social protection. That is a wrong concept," he said in a press conference at Menara PERKESO.
He said insurance and social protection were not the same thing.
Dr Mohammed Azman said Bank Negara data showed only 45.5% of Malaysians had life insurance, with take-up among the B40 group at about 4%.
He said a formal-sector worker in Malaysia spent only about 33% of the year on the job, including travel to and from work.
"This means for the remaining 67%, or about 244 days a year, they are not protected if an accident happens outside working hours," he said.
Dr Mohammed Azman said the scheme's contribution rate started at 0.75%, which he estimated at about 35 to 40 sen a day, among the lowest in the world.
"I don't want to compare it with the price of a cigarette or a day's worth of data. That is what you pay in contribution," he said.
He said Malaysia was one of the first countries in the world to offer round-the-clock coverage, with no neighbouring country running a similar scheme and the closest comparison being New Zealand.
Dr Mohammed Azman said the grace period to opt out had ended on Aug 31, and workers could no longer leave the scheme but could rejoin at any time.
He said close to 10,000 of those who opted out early had already signed back up, and he expected more to return.
Workers who opted out can rejoin online at lindungfaedah.perkeso.gov.my with no deadline from Sept 2. Those who stay in remain covered as long as they meet the conditions under the Employees' Social Security Act 1969 (Act 4), in line with the "Once In, Always In" principle.
Lindung is the rebranding of PERKESO social security schemes, launched on Aug 22, 2025. Lindung 24 Jam, enforced from June 1 this year, covers workers who contribute to Lindung Pekerja for accidents that happen outside working hours within the country.
