KUALA LUMPUR: Human Resources Minister Steven Sim said that film companies must contribute to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) before they can obtain Filming Authentication Certificates for their projects.
Sim said in a report by Harian Metro yesterday that Socso and the National Film Development Corporation (Finas) had agreed to this move in a recent memorandum of understanding as people working in the film industry were frequently exposed to workplace mishaps.
"By having film companies contribute to Socso, the well-being of people employed in the film industry will be better taken care of," he said, adding that his ministry had called on producers and artistes to jointly contribute to Socso.
Sim also said that the Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SKSPS) would act as a "buffer" for artistes in the face of risks and challenges to the entertainment industry.
3,120 people from the industry have been contributing to the scheme since April 12.
Sim also announced that the Khairat Assistance Scheme worth RM1,000 under SKSPS would help contributors meet the funeral expenses of their loved ones and it has been in force since March 1.
Meanwhile, the Malaysia Film Association Coalition (Gafema), which consists of 11 major entities involved in the local film industry, fully supported the move by Socso and Finas.
Its president Pansha said in a statement yesterday that more than 4,500 members of the creative industry would benefit from the initiative by Socso and Finas.
"This is a great and timely announcement and we hope both organisations and their respective ministries will give us more details about the scheme's implementation later," he said.
Pansha also said that they hoped that Finas and Socso could set up an industry database for artistes to monitor contributions to their Socso accounts.
