Timely help: Dr Mohammed Azman (right) presenting a mock cheque to taxi driver Ali Ibrahim at Melaka Sentral Terminal earlier this year. Ali is the first recipient of Socso’s Self-Employed Employment Injury Scheme benefits which took effect on June 1.
PETALING JAYA: Every year, an average of 500,000 workers and their dependants are receiving various social security payouts amounting to over RM2bil.
The payouts are given in the form of temporary disablement benefit, permanent disablement benefit, dependants’ benefit, funeral benefit, medical benefit and survivors’ pension, to name a few.
Without Socso in place, many will find themselves up against a brick wall during contingencies, unexpected hardships and unforeseen circumstances.
Fast forward 46 years. Today, Socso is still going strong with various initiatives implemented including the rebranding exercise, while several more are in the pipeline.
Just last year, Socso took a bold step by initiating measures to upgrade its facilities, services and service delivery systems.
The essence of its rebranding was based on several initiatives, namely improving operational quality; enhancing service counter through electronic medium and empowerment of frontline staff; establishing Skuad Perkeso Prihatin (Socso Prihatin Squad), as well as reinforcing human capital excellence and development.
The rebranding exercise was instituted to realise Socso’s transformation programme as well as to drive a paradigm shift among its staff towards a more dynamic and competitive change.
So, it is hardly surprising that Socso’s audacious initiatives have become best practices regionally and internationally such as Return to Work Programme (RTW), Health Screening Programme (HSP), Socso Prihatin Squad and Tun Abdul Razak Socso Rehabilitation Centre.
Other than the existing initiatives, Socso is constantly evolving with another scheme in the offing – Employment Insurance System (EIS) – to be tabled in Parliament next month.
This new scheme proposes decreasing financial and non-financial assistance to those who have lost their jobs for up to six months and thereafter, find a new job.
Socso’s numerous strategies in expanding employees’ social security protection and addressing global challenges in social security did not go unnoticed. In fact, it has earned the organisation a string of awards and recognitions.
Among them are Asean Social Security Association (ASSA) Recognition Award 2016 for Innovation Excellence; Excellence in Social Security Administration by ASSA for HSP; International Social Security Association (ISSA) Certificate of Excellence in Social Security Administration (Contribution Collection and Compliance); Public Sector 5-Star Recognition 2015-2016; Innovative Award in Conjunction with the National AKRAB Convention 2016; Prime Minister’s Innovation Awards 2016; Chief Secretary’s Innovation Award 2016; 5-Star Recognition for Public Sector Website; and Financial Management Innovation Award (Accountability Index) of the Human Resources Ministry.
Chief executive officer Datuk Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said Socso had set a target to become the premier and outstanding leader in social security – an instrument of “social and economic justice” – by 2020.
“Our long-term mission is to provide social security protection to all insured persons and their dependants through social security schemes.
“We also want to increase awareness on occupational safety and health so that an insured person’s social wellbeing can be further improved,” he said.
Dr Mohammed Azman said since its establishment, Socso had expanded its services and improved its benefits without any hike in the rate of contribution.
This is achieved through the practice of good governance, enforcement and diversification of investment activities.
“We are also looking at bridging the ‘coverage gap’ in social security to ensure that all groups of workers are covered under the social safety net,” he said.
The effort has resulted in the enactment of a law for the self-employed, namely the Self-Employment Social Security Act (SESSA) 2017. Besides SESSA, Socso implements and enforces Employees’ Social Security Act (ESSA) 1969.
ESSA covers employees working in the private sector while SESSA protects mostly taxi drivers for now. But more self-employed and other workers in the informal sector will be covered under SESSA in the near future.
There are two schemes under ESSA that provide social security benefits to the workers or their dependants, namely Employment Injury Scheme and Invalidity Scheme. Meanwhile, the Self-Employed Employment Injury Scheme is under SESSA, which took effect on June 1 this year for self-employed taxi drivers or individuals carrying out similar services such as airport limousines, rental cars and e-hailing taxi (Uber and Grab).
Dr Mohammed Azman said the scheme under SESSA provides coverage to self-employed insured persons from employment injuries including occupational diseases and accidents during work-related activities.
Dr Mohammed Azman pointed out that 40 sen a day – cheaper than a stick of cigarette – was all that was needed to make a minimum annual contribution of RM157.20 under the Self-Employed Employment Injury Scheme.
Besides providing social security benefits and rehabilitation for the insured workers, Socso is also actively advocating accident prevention and health promotion to improve the safety, health and wellbeing of all workers in the country. This is in view of the rising trend of commuting accidents and the alarming increase in non-communicable diseases among Malaysian workers.
“Socso is serious in advancing the issues of accident prevention and health promotion because a preventive safety and health culture among Malaysians can save lives and reduce costs to the society and the nation; not only economic and financial costs but also social and emotional costs,” added Dr Mohammed Azman.
With its tagline that focuses on being caring and prioritises clients’ and stakeholders’ expectations and wellbeing, Socso is committed to improving the social wellbeing of society as well as to create an inclusive and productive society.
