KUALA LUMPUR: Only 15.5 per cent or 369,107 self-employed people in Malaysia are contributing to the Social Security Organisation (Socso) Self-Employment Social Security Scheme (SESSS).
Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Awang Hashim said the number was small considering the overall 2.38 million self-employed workers in the country.
According to Socso records, accidents involving those from the group had increased over the years, he said.
"For example, the number of recipients under the temporary disablement benefit among the self-employed have increased by 420 per cent in 2021 compared with 2020, with a total payout of RM3.9 million.
"For dependants' benefits, there was a 260 per cent increase of claims made by the self-employed in 2021 compared with the year before, with an overall RM900,000 payouts," he said.
Awang was speaking at the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between Socso and Pusat Asuhan Tunas Islam (Pasti) for the SESSS programme today.
He said the statistics served as a reminder on the importance of making preparations to protect oneself and loved ones.
He said contributors' medical costs were also covered by Socso.
"The deceased's wife and dependants such as children and parents are also eligible for other benefits like funeral benefit of RM2,000.
"This will somehow help ease the burden of the contributors and next-of-kin should there be any misfortune," he said, adding that he hoped more self-employed workers would sign up for the Socso scheme.
Socso chief executive officer Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed said the government in the 2022 Budget had outlined various strategies to help the people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
One of them was to empower and offer a more comprehensive social safety net for Keluarga Malaysia (Malaysian Family) under Socso.
"They include introduction and implementation of SPS Matching contribution for self-employed individuals.
"The scheme also targeted self-employed women in 20 sectors including support services like volunteers and education through SPS Usahawanita initiative," said Azman.
He said the initiative was the government's commitment to protecting more self-employed people regardless of gender, sector or industry.
Socso, he said, was conducting numerous promotional activities and engagement with various agencies to educate people on the benefits of the matching contribution scheme.
He said 9,781 teachers and volunteers under Pasti had so far registered and contributed under Socso's SESSS.
Also present was Pasti director-general Damanhuri Dol.
