KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 — Malaysia will soon introduce the Non-Employment Injury Scheme to ensure workers are protected beyond office hours, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced.
He said the idea for the scheme stemmed from a realisation that the pressures of work do not stop at the factory gate or office door.
“In an age of flexible and remote arrangements, this reform will align protection with the realities of how people live and work today, and crucially, it will extend coverage around the clock, recognising that accidents and injuries do not keep to a schedule,” he said in his keynote speech at the World Social Security Forum 2025 here today.
Present were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Human Resources Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong, Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Nancy Shukri, and Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
Also in attendance were Health Minister Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad, Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo, Deputy Human Resources Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad, and International Social Security Association (ISSA) president Datuk Seri Dr Mohammed Azman Aziz Mohammed.
Earlier this month, Sim said the Human Resources Ministry is drafting amendments to the Employees' Social Security Act 1969 to provide 24-hour social security protection for employees under the Social Security Organisation (Socso).
Meanwhile, Anwar said Malaysia is embedding digital systems so coverage can be delivered more effectively, and no community, however remote, is left unseen.
“Progress is ongoing, though far from perfect, but the conviction that guides us is clear: true prosperity is not measured by the size of our skyscrapers or gross domestic product (GDP), but by the dignity with which ordinary citizens live their daily lives,” he said.
Anwar said social protection is not a bureaucratic system of benefits, but a moral infrastructure.
“Earlier civilisations understood this. In the Islamic tradition, the baitulmal ensured that wealth served the poor, the widowed, the orphaned and the elderly. That legacy of justice and solidarity continues to inspire us,” he said.
He said that Malaysia, guided by these principles, is reshaping its own social protection, extending security to those who have long stood outside the net, such as informal workers, homemakers and gig riders.
Themed “Shaping Social Security For A World In Transition”, the five-day forum, which kicked off today, gathers over 1,500 participants from about 135 countries to discuss a global roadmap for an inclusive, sustainable and future-ready social security system.
The forum will culminate in the World Social Security Summit on Friday, where leaders will set the tone for the next decade of social security practices worldwide.
